Green Eyes
by Yavanna and SunStar
Summary: What would you do if you were forbidden to love, forbidden to feel? Faye's trapped in her own misery,spiralling towards the oblivian that waits while Middle Earth is on the brink of destruction,wavering on the edge of darkness that threatens to engulf all
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing apart from the original characters and a part of the plot, the rest belongs to the fantabulous J. R. R. Tolkien, and by know way is any of this mine.

**Summary:** What would you do if you were forbidden to love - forbidden to feel? Faye's trapped in her own misery, spiralling towards the oblivion that waits. Middle Earth is on the brink of destruction, wavering on the edge of darkness that threatens to not only engulf Faye but those few people she has left.

A/N: Hey there! Well I've been wanting to write a Lord of the Ring's story for quite some time but haven't quite had the courage to write one, I love the books so much I just don't feel I could ever do them justice and I don't want to make a complete mess of Tolkien's complete genius. Yet I have finally decided to try. Here's hoping this doesn't turn into a Mary-Sue. This story is AU, and follows the books not the films. This is mostly an angst/action-adventure, but there may also be elements of romance as well. Your comments and constructive criticism would be much appreciated though, anything that will help me to make this a better story. This chapter is really just an introduction, and the story will start properly next chapter. Please review!

* * *

_I guess you are wondering what happened to me that has made me end up like this. I'm broken, I know that, my mind's torn and I don't know how to fix it. I'm trapped inside my thoughts and memories so while I'm here I guess I can tell you my story. It won't just be mine though, the paths that other people took in their lives are far too important to leave out. I won't delude you into thinking this is a happy story – it isn't. There are lighter parts its true, but it is mostly the sequence of tragic events that managed to tear me up inside and destroy everything that I held dear. I won't keep you waiting anymore, but judge me as you will; nothing matters to me anymore._

* * *

Green eyes. Never again would they be seen by those who held him deep in their hearts. He was being laid to rest forever, not fully comprehending what destruction and agony he was leaving behind. 

A young girl of twelve stood perfectly still by the fresh, rich soil that covered the newly formed grave of her beloved Green Eyes. People had been and gone, paying their respects and only her cousin, or brother, she didn't know what he was really, remained with her; her sisters had already gone back to the house.

"Faye, we have to go", he reached for her hand but she jerked it away and a flash of annoyance spread across his face. "You've been out here for hours now, we have to go".

She continued to ignore him and he let out a cry of frustration.

"Faye please! Don't block me out!" his face crumpled as she paid him no attention and the events of the past week finally took their toll on him. He quickly brushed away his tears as all of the hurt he was feeling was quickly replaced by anger.

"Look Faye, he's gone and never coming back so you may as well get over it!"

The girl spun round, her eyes blazing. She didn't need any words; the boy could see in her face how much he had hurt her.

"Faye…" he trailed off as she turned from him and dropped a single blood red rose on to the grave and ran away. He didn't see her again for many years to come.

* * *

Faye gazed out over the woody expanse as her companions remained unconscious on the floor. Her face remained blank as her thoughts raced in confusion and turmoil. The last thing she could remember before darkness had swept over her was racing through polluted streets. Then as she'd opened her eyes, she'd been met with the sight of a clear blue sky. After she'd gazed around her eyes had taken in the unconscious forms of her sisters, the lush grass beneath her booted feet and the dense, menacing wood before her. 

That had been a couple of hours ago, and the sky that had been clear before was now carpeted with dark clouds, a sure sign that rain was on its way and she knew that she needed to seek cover. Although the woods would have been the ideal place, Faye got the impression that they weren't very welcoming.

She hadn't woken her sisters yet, after checking they were unharmed; she knew that they would bombard her with questions which she knew she didn't have the answers for. Where were they? How did they get there? Faye had mulled over these questions until a dull ache had begun to form behind her eyes, whilst all the while she had a prickling sensation of being watched. She remembered that they had been chasing…_him._ Was _he_ somewhere about, just waiting to attack once more?

Shaking her dark thoughts aside, she concentrated on the matter at hand once again, yet the answers to the questions she knew her sisters would ask her still eluded her. Faye knew that the best chance they had was to find some sort of civilisation so they could ask for directions. The only problem with this plan was that there wasn't a sign of a building or person anywhere as far as the eye could see over the rolling landscape of the vast green hills. Unless that is you could count the narrow smudge of slightly darker land in the distance, snaking its way along that could either be a road or a river. Her mind made up that that would be where they would head to, she turned and bent down to wake her sisters.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing apart from the original characters and a part of the plot, the rest belongs to the fantabulous J. R. R. Tolkien, and by no way is any of this mine.

Chapter 1

Sasha and Christina Johnson were not happy. They were cold, hungry, tired and wet and about five seconds from giving into despair. Faye glanced at them briefly with a quick flicker of her eyes before stopping in her tracks, her two sisters almost stumbling into her due to the abrupt halt.

"What's the problem?" she asked a slight raising of one eyebrow the only indication of the annoyance that was beginning to bubble up inside of her. She didn't even bother to look at them. Closing her eyes she could clearly see the expressions forming on their faces; expressions of unease and irritability. The silence stretched for a moment until Sasha finally broke it, just like Faye knew she would.

"Faye we've been walking for _hours_, literally now, I mean when are we going to stop? What are we going to do? There's no food, no water, no shelter and in case you haven't noticed it's _raining!"_ Sasha was really building up a head of steam now, her black braids flying around her face as she used her head to gesticulate wildly to emphasise her points. "Look I know you said we were going to find that road, or _whatever_ it was, you don't even know if it _is_ a road, and we haven't gotten any closer and it's getting _dark_ now. You won't be able to see it". Sasha sighed quietly then looked at Faye, uncertainty marking her features, but this time instead of there being irritability mingled with it there was only fear. Christina was the one who spoke her previously unspoken question.

"What if _he's_ out there?" Christina said it quietly, barely above a whisper but it was enough. Silence seemed to permeate the area surrounding the three of them and Faye's whole body seemed to freeze, and for a long moment she forgot how to breathe. The world seemed to blur to her, all sound was muted, even the falling rain and Faye allowed herself to feel. Not her own emotions but her surroundings, taking stock of every little movement of air, a breath of wind, the sound of the trees…just everything.

Moments ticked by and Sasha and Christina studied their sister. She was stood still, eyes open yet glazed, seeing something they couldn't even begin to comprehend. She always took the lead, always looked after them yet sometimes they couldn't help but wonder; was she really strong enough? Was she ready to face _him?_ They'd been chasing _him_ the night before yet something had felt off, like they were the ones doing the running away, like _he_ was chasing them, or leading them to somewhere they most definitely didn't want to be. Sasha and Christina shared a look, communicating far more through their eyes then they would ever dare voice out loud. They were so different in appearance, yet so alike in their soul and they both knew that without a doubt, Faye would never let them get hurt.

As though that thought had been broadcasted, Faye came back to reality with a jolt, blinking slightly as everything her eyes saw was momentarily brightened. She studied her sisters silently, weighing up the best way to handle the situation. Christina stood shivering slightly, her pale skin glowing in the growing darkness causing her multitude of freckles to stand out on her face. Her usually bright red hair was plastered to her head looking almost black in the fading light. She looked altogether bedraggled yet her green eyes were aware and gazing back at her intently. Sasha also looked completely dishevelled. Her black braids hung limply round her head and her dark coffee skin helped her blend into the night. The white of her eyes gleamed however and her deep brown eyes were gazing at Faye with a sort of pleading within them, but pleading for what Faye didn't know. Exhaling slowly to calm her inner turmoil, Faye spoke to her sisters.

"_He's_ not here", she paused momentarily, a pang shooting through her at Sasha and Christina's sighs of relief, "But something else is".

"Something else?" Christina questioned sharply, "Like what?"

Before Faye got the chance to reply, Sasha spoke up, and the tone of her voice instantly caught Faye's attention, much more then the words being spoken.

"There's nothing else out there alright. Faye's just messing with us Chrissie, right Faye?" The tone in her voice seemed slightly menacing, although daring Faye to disagree with her, but there was a pleading note to it as well, something Faye finally understood.

"I'm being serious Sasha".

There; she'd said it. There was no joke, this was no lie, they were in trouble, lost and there was something else evil out there and Faye didn't know how to help Sasha and Chrissie deal with it. She'd tried to soften the blow, to put off the inevitable but there it was. Sasha reacted just as she'd expected her to. She started to cry.

Almost stumbling forward blindly, Sasha reached for her and Faye caught her, wrapping her arms around her in a fierce hug, trying to provide what comfort and support she could. All the while her sister cried into her shoulder, Faye's face remained blank, devoid of emotion yet she kept her gaze steady on Chrissie's face. She knew whatever emotion Sasha was showing outwardly, Chrissie was sure to be feeling the same inside, not quite as strong, but needing to be dealt with all the same.

"Oh Christ Faye I'm scared", Sasha's voice was thick with tears and muffled slightly by Faye's clothes but still distinguishable, and Faye inwardly steeled herself for the task at hand, although the while keeping her eyes on Christina's.

"I know you're scared Sasha, and it's alright to be. We're in a bad situation but we'll be okay. We're going to make for that road, then follow it and find some form of civilisation. Then we can get food, water, shelter, and all the things we need and can take stock of where we are. Then we're going to go home. It will happen Sasha; I promise you that, you just have to be strong for me".

Inwardly Faye had to battle with feelings of trepidation. She's just promised her sisters something she wasn't sure she could deliver; getting home. They were in a foreign land, of that she was sure. The world around them was too pure, too….unblemished to something anywhere near resembling the lands they came from. Yet this lie had to be told, she needed her sisters to be strong. First they would find some people, get some help then plan from there. She only hoped her sisters could make it that far.

Christina was glancing at her with a penetrating gaze, as though mentally summing things up, before she gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head. She'd be strong for Faye; right now it was the only thing any of them could do to get out of this situation. Sasha meanwhile was finishing crying, sniffling slightly as she wiped away the last of her tears, and she offered Faye a wobbly smile.

"You're right Faye, as usual. A bit of walking never hurt anyone and as soon as we find the road we'll find people in no time" Sasha said the words yet at the same time it was as though she was trying to convince herself. After a moments silence she nodded her head determinedly and gave a slight chuckle, before catching Faye into a quick hug. "Thank you; God knows what we'd do without you Faye".

Faye smiled slightly in response, trying to ignore the crushing feeling of responsibility that was ever present on her shoulders, and quickly gestured that they begin walking again. The shadows were lengthening further and Sasha cast a quick, almost frightened expression around before her features cleared. They had a task to do, they had to get moving, and all three of them would help each other, no matter the cost.

The shadows quickly lengthened, and darkness surrounded them like a black cloth, enfolding them in its almost suffocating embrace, as Faye had to guide them on relying fully on her instincts. They'd been walking for hours now and the lack of food and water was beginning to tell on all three of them. They wearily trudged up another incline and paused to catch their breath, when Faye heard it; the sound of flowing water. In the darkness she allowed a full smile to cross her lips, knowing that no one else could see it, before she quickly gathered her thoughts together.

"Sasha, Chrissie, there's a river or stream up ahead" she whispered, yet even then her voice seemed too loud. Everywhere surrounding them was giving off a sense of foreboding, as though there was evil all around, or that something evil had just passed through, momentarily marking the land with its malevolent presence that not even the current heavy rain was able to wash away.

Sasha gave a silent dance for joy as they the three of them began to edge their way downwards carefully, relying on hearing alone as the moon was still obscured by thick rain filled clouds that seemed to have no end. Faye reached the banks of the water first and held her arm out to halt the others. Peering closer she strained her eyes to see the far bank and inwardly gave a sigh of relief.

"It's a stream" her voice came out quieter than a breath yet the others heard her. "Drink quickly, and then we can jump across".

The three crouched next the fast and swollen stream, gasping slightly as they cupped the ice cold water in their hands. Faye frowned slightly as she considered this. They were not so high in the mountains that it would be natural for the water to be this cold, and it had been high summer in the city they had been in. Could it truly be a different season all together in this land they were in? Could it honestly be almost Winter here?

Faye had always listened to the stories that had emerged after the Great War with great trepidation. It was said that it was a war to end all wars; that the use of nuclear weapons had ripped the world apart in ways people could only guess at. Yet some claimed, some _insisted_ gateways to other worlds had been opened. For years attacks had been made on people seen as different, as _alien_ who were captured and tested on to try and prove that they had come from foreign lands, yet no definite proof was ever released. Surely it had all been talk of very eccentric enthusiasts, who had spent their lives researching UFO's and the paranormal, and now saw the mutated results after nuclear warfare as their way of proving that which they had only dreamed of.

She blocked these thoughts from her head from the time being, needing calm and quiet to truly contemplate the fact that they could even possibly be in a different world. Faye dealt in the here and now, concentrating fully on that which was in front of her. The moment her mind strayed into dreams and memories was when danger was closest at hand to her. She governed herself with an iron will, knowing it was the only way she could continue to survive. The only way she could ensure that her sisters would survive. Life was a battle for them, but one she was determined to win.

Standing suddenly she gestured for her sisters to join her. They had lingered too long she felt. Evil had passed this way, a darkness that was different to _him_ but still something she didn't want to meet. Gathering herself she leaped quickly, easily landing on the other side of the stream, her heavy boots sinking into the sodden earth and she cursed silently. If anyone wanted to track her they wouldn't have a hard time of doing it. Inwardly shaking off that thought she held both her arms out to her sisters and they quickly joined her on the other side.

An urgency that Faye didn't fully understand grasped her as she walked on, quicker this time, as though the water had given her all the sustenance that she needed. It did not take long till they reached a hedgerow and found a break in it. She heard Sasha give a moan of relief.

"The Road", Christina whispered quietly and with reverence. Faye could understand her sentiment. She was never fully at ease, trekking through the wild. Having a road in front of her always made her feel grounded and yet here she hesitated in which direction to turn. She could see, to the right, still in the far distance a twinkle of lights. Not the orange glow that appeared in the air above cities, but more like the yellowish flame of candles. It was the sign of civilisation that they wanted yet the presence of something wrong in that direction was so strong Faye could almost smell it, and it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Yet something about that place called to her. And more than that she could see her sisters were flagging. They needed shelter, food and dry clothes. Whatever danger was there was most certainly not _him_ so could be of no concern to them. With that thought in mind she squared her shoulders and set off towards the lights, not looking to see if Sasha and Christina were following her. Her sisters would follow her anywhere without being asked and she soon heard the crunch of their footsteps behind her.

It took another couple of hours but they soon saw the village looming in front of them, with great wooden walls surrounding it, but there was something obviously wrong. The gate, that so obviously should have been kept closed doing hours of darkness was half open, and a crumpled body, that Faye could only assume was the gatekeeper lay prone on the floor. The village was eerily quiet and the three girls' breath came out in puffs of mist in front of their faces as the temperature seemed to drop. Sasha and Christina drew close, as if even they could now sense danger was near. Faye braced herself for what was to come as they edged closer to the gate. Little did they know it but they had arrived in Bree and life as they knew it would never be the same again.

* * *

_How much I regret now, my decision to turn right at that gap in the hedge, to ultimately end up in Bree. The smell of danger had been there but I had not heeded it, preferring to seek out the easier option of comforting my sisters. What a fool I was. But that is ever the gift of hindsight. The option __that ever seems easiest to begin with often proves the most costly in the end. And it was costly for me. I don't know if I will ever stop paying for it._

* * *

**_A/N:_** I would love to know what anyone thiks of this story. Constructive criticism is most welcome!

Over and out.

~ Yavanna


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing save the original characters and part of the plot. The rest is all the property o Tolkien.

Chapter 2

Faye took a steadying breath before she prepared to walk forward. Her body stilled slightly as she attuned herself to her surroundings, and then she moved. It was as though the melted into the very night, her entire being moving fluidly as she stepped lightly across the ground, crossing to the gate with amazing speed. Sasha and Christina subconsciously mimicked her. They had long had to master the art of stealth in order to survive, and they passed like shadows, each scanning the surrounding area, covering each other against any sign of danger.

With a quick glance to her sisters to make sure they were covering her, Faye quickly knelt next to the prone man in the open gateway. The back of his head glistened darkly with blood that had started to crust over. It was too recent an attack for Faye to feel even the slightest bit happy to be in the area. She quickly placed two fingers on the man's neck, searching for a pulse, but in vain. She quickly rolled him over and had to stop herself from recoiling. The man's face was a chalky white, his lips blue but it was his eyes that had so startled her. They painted a picture of pure terror, and she quickly closed them. Whatever attack this had been, it certainly hadn't been an ordinary one. She didn't think that a guard, for she had noted his sheathed sword, would be so petrified by just a man. No, there was something definitely wrong here.

She stood again quickly, scanning the area as the back of her neck prickled. Someone was watching them. Her eyes strained to pierce the shadows surrounding them, as the rain poured down. Faye's black hair was plastered to the top of her head and rivulets of water ran down her face, but she didn't even acknowledge it with a blink. The buildings surrounding them were rather rustic, simple wooden and stone buildings, held together with a basic mortar. They looked old though, and despite being ravaged by the weather they were clearly able to withstand the test of time. There was a stench that even the dampness created by the rain couldn't disguise and on either side of the main road, Faye could see a very primitive sewage system. It was not long before her sister's also noted this.

"Oh Gods, have you ever smelt anything so bad?" Sasha's voice came out muffled as she tried to hide her nose under the collar of her jacket.

"At least the drains are covered though" Christina offered, only half optimistically. The sewage system was only just below street level, with fractured wood panelling the only thing protecting any passers by from literally walking through human waste.

"Where on earth are we? This place looks like it is out of the dark ages" Sasha shivered both from disgust and cold, and she shot a look at Faye as though expecting an answer. She sighed though and realised she should have known better. If Faye had anything of import to tell them, she'd have done so by now. Talking was something her sister rarely did. She's been like it for so long, Sasha could barely remember a time when Faye had been different. But she had, even if Faye herself was determined to stamp out any sign of the girl she had used to be.

"Not much of a sword" Christina noted critically, turning her attention to the dead guard. She also gazed disapprovingly at the gate and surrounding walls, which though they stood tall, in sections were made up of half rotten wood. "I doubt this place has much need of a defence".

"Urgh and look at the state of his clothes and hands", Sasha wrinkled her nose in disgust, ever the stickler for hygiene. "What's the betting he had no woman to take care of him"

Christina looked scandalised.

"Sasha the poor man is dead" You can't talk about him that way".

"Dead or not, that's no excuse for lack of cleanliness" Sasha was adamant. "It says a lot about a person you know, their personal hygiene. If he couldn't make the effort to keep himself clean, I highly doubt he could make the effort to keep a good look out. He was probably having a bit of a nap when the attackers came by, I mean, he didn't even draw his sword!"

"Quiet"

Faye barely breathed the word but it was enough to get her two sisters to silence instantly. Her eyes were fixed on something in the darkness and she was so still you couldn't even tell if she was breathing. A chill swept through the air, a feeling of fear started to grip at all three of them, as Sasha and Christina shifted slightly behind Faye, as though to be shielded from whatever was out there. They seemed to stand there for an eternity, before a slight shift in Faye's shoulders alerted the others that the danger was passed and Sasha breathed a sigh of relief.

"Was it…_him?_ I couldn't tell, it felt, I don't know…different". Christina's eyes were focused on Faye completely. She'd learnt long ago that Faye would keep things from her and Sasha, and only the smallest movements of her face would provide her with the truth. For whatever reason tonight though, Faye was a lot more forthcoming than usual.

"It was not _him_ Christina, but something is out there, or near here that's dangerous. We aren't safe in the open. We'll look for shelter and some food and decide what to do in the morning; I think our decisions are best left till daylight".

Sasha was nodding her head in agreement without even realising. Faye's voice swept over and around her, willing her to believe in what she was saying, and Sasha did so willingly. Christina hesitated slightly as Faye turned to head into the village before shaking herself. It may not be any safer in the village but Faye was right when she said they needed shelter, Christina could already feel herself start to shiver as her wet clothes clung to her in the fast cooling air. It would be a cold night.

They began moving in formation again, slowly edging their way past buildings, being careful to avoid the sewers running under their half rotten covering on either side of the street. There were not many people about, and light was scarce and it was obvious they had entered the least populated end of the village. It was strange that no alarm had been raised yet about the dead guard. Just a few flickers of candle light could be seen through grubby thick glass windows, as Faye strained her eyes once more, searching for danger. Slowly they came to a building half way down the road, where light peeped out of dozens of windows. Gazing up at the creaky sign which had a crude design of a horse on it, roughly hewn into the wood, Faye realised they had reached the village inn, and held up her hand quickly in a silent signal for her sisters to stop, and gestured for them to come closer.

Glancing in what Christina would have called nervousness, if she hadn't known Faye better, Faye began to speak in a hurried whisper.

"This is the inn, I am going to go in and ask if there is a room free. I want you two to stay here. I know not what it is about this place, but I feel as though we have stepped back through time. I don't know how well received three females travelling by themselves will be. Let me go and ask, and if all does not feel well then I will find us somewhere else to stay".

While all three had been stood together, heads bent towards each other, a man took his time to study them from an upper floor window, his dark brows furrowed, grey eyes intent. He could not shake a feeling that he should know them, or that he'd met someone very like them before. They were set apart from their surrounding as though they didn't belong, their garb was such that he'd never seen before, but he could not fathom out why this would be. A frown still marring his face, he turned back to his companions, distracted by a question, and did not see the tallest of the three glance up at the shadow of his retreating form in the window. Faye had not failed to spot that they were being watched.

Leaving her sisters huddled as closely as they could to the wall of the inn, trying to get what shelter they could, Faye squared her shoulders before pulling the heavy wooden door open. The stale smell of sweat and pipe smoke greeted her nose and she had to fight to keep it from wrinkling in disgust. The light was gloomy, with sporadic candles, with wax dribbling down their sides, providing the only light. Faye could see that in the far corner opposite the one long bar the fire had already died down to glowing embers. It was clearly almost time for closing. Stepping forward two quick strides she reached the bar and heard the door slam shut behind her, providing what she hoped would be sufficient noise to announce her presence. She did not have long to wait.

A sound reached her ears, that of a quick patter of bare feet, and she stood a little straighter, her eyes searching the dark doorway behind the bar, waiting for the owner of those feet to appear. A startled gasp however had even Faye turning in surprise, her eyes drawn to the corner of the bar whose top a brown curly head barely reached. A fine black eyebrow shot up in surprise as her eyes gazed on in fascination. Her face, still blank, betrayed very little of her shock but her eyes burned with curiosity, and the figure stood, as though frozen in her gaze.

A child he had first appeared to her, but as she looked closer she saw that he was in fact an adult, all be it a much shorter one than she had seen before. He was no dwarf. Taking in his attire her eyes slowly trailed down him until they reached his feet. Her breath froze, and for an instant her heart felt as though it was encased in a fist of ice.

A hobbit. This figure could be nothing but a hobbit.

Her head began to swim at the thought. She'd known that the Great War had ripped through the universe, rumoured to have opened up worlds full of mythical creatures, but never worlds full of _fictional_ ones. She knew the tale regarding hobbits, and knew it well, despite it having been written more than two hundred years before she had even been born. That was a tale that resonated through the centuries.

And it was real….

Feeling air shudder back into her lungs again, she was forced to reach a steadying hand out towards the bar. In a distant part of her mind she was glad that there was none save for this hobbit to witness such a display of weakness on her part.

"Forgive me", she started, her own voice sounding strange to her ears. "I have come to ask for a room at the inn for my companions and myself. There are only two others with me. Have you a room?"

The mildly terrified look the hobbit was shooting her did not make her feel very confident that her request would be met with a positive answer. The seconds ticked slowly by as the tension grew in the room, when with one last glance at her the hobbit raced off back down the corridor behind the bar, shouting his head off. What shocked Faye the most though was that she understood nothing of what he was shouting. The language that he seemed to be speaking was utterly foreign to her, and she felt a great sinking dread. If she could not even understand these people and if they could not understand her, how was she to ask for aid? And what was worse, in these times and places, for she now guessed that they were in Bree or at least a village like it, would the locals be trusting of three strange females, travelling alone and who spoke a different tongue to them? And how would they react to Sasha? Faye felt certain that her sister would be the only person for hundreds of miles around with dark skin.

She heard a rushing of footsteps and more shouts and she quickly made up her mind. In less than a second she was back outside the inn and striding down the road, ignoring the squawks of her sisters as they were forced to follow her.

She didn't stop until she had reached the dead body of the guard once more and she quickly turned to enter what she assumed was the guard house. Hurrying in after her, Sasha and Christina tried to question her, but she gestured for silence as she moved to bar the door, listening intently for sounds of pursuit. Seconds ticked by, and she took those moments to decide what to tell her sisters. She settled for honesty.

"I've just seen a hobbit and I think we're in Bree".

Silence was all that greeted her. Sasha had a mildly panicked look on her face, as though she felt Faye had finally lost the plot. It was Christina's gaze though that held her attention.

"Harry". It had not been what Faye had been expected to hear, and with a slightly raised eyebrow, Christina rushed to explain. "The guard, it could be Harry, and that pub…that wooden horse sign. Why that would be The Prancing Pony!" Excitement had started to build in Chrissie's face but it was not a feeling that Faye could share just then.

"Wait do you mean that we've been thrown into a _book?_ C'mon you two" Sasha's tone was incredulous, "The war might have opened up new worlds, no one knows, but sure as hell not worlds of _literature_".

"But what if it was _real_ Sasha, I mean, Tolkien knew so much about it, he couldn't have invented it all surely" Christina's eyes were gleaming, she always had enjoyed the tales of Tolkien more than the others. "I mean, man, _hobbits! _Actual hobbits, oh wow that means there's elves and dwarves and"

"Nazgul"

That was it. Just the one word from Faye to interrupt her and Christina's face fell. Sasha shot a look between the both of them, her mind racing.

"You mean the guard, you think those…what the hell were they called, the black riders or whatever, that they're here too?" Scepticism was all that was present. "Oh please you two, get a grip, c'mon now".

Christina however hadn't stopped looking at Faye, and she was clearly shaken.

"How do you explain where we are then Sasha, this place, the inn, Faye seeing a hobbit…."

"Yes, yes, but how have we ended up here with those stupid riders, that story has already happened, you know if it was actually real, it would be history, we couldn't have landed right in the middle of it!" Sasha all but stamped her foot. She couldn't, just _couldn't_ accept that her sisters might be right.

"But that feeling, we had that feeling of evil that wasn't _him_, and if the Nazgul were here, that would explain it…." Christina trailed off and started pacing around the small guard house.

"It is real Sasha, we are here. Haven't you felt it? How pure everything is here, how old this place feels….can't you feel it?"

Faye looked directly at her sister, willing her to accept, knowing it would make her task so much easier if she did. Sasha glanced around wildly, refusing to look Faye in the eye, desperately searching for another reason, but wasn't able to find one.

"If…if this is real, if we're here and here at the time of the story then…what the hell are we going to do?" Sasha's voice was quiet, and afraid, and neither of her sisters had an answer for her.

The lack of a response seemed to stun Sasha momentarily before she shook herself. Too often it seemed she relied on the others for help, if they didn't have any answers then she could at least get the ball rolling herself.

"Well, I suppose we should look for some clothes to change in to first, right?" it was a hesitant question, and directed at Faye, and the slight half smile that she got in return gave her the confidence to carry on. "Yes, clothes, I wonder where the guard kept his…" she trailed off as she started towards the old wooden chest of doors nestled against the wall opposite the door.

"You can't go rummaging through his things!" Christina was scandalised.

"Why not, he's dead, he's not going to need them" Sasha retorted.

As the two started to bicker and snipe over the contents of the room, Faye took the time to try and gather her thoughts.

They were in Bree. She had seen a hobbit. They were in Middle Earth.

Middle Earth. It almost made her catch her breath. As a small child her parents had always read them the stories and spoke of them as though they had been real.

Her parents. It was as though a river of ice had shot through her veins at the thought of them. She avoided thinking of them as much as she could, and for a few seconds she struggled to draw her breath as the pain of loss hit her.

They had been seven when their parents had died. But Middle Earth was something that always reminded her of them, it was as though they were inexplicably linked in her mind, and try as she might at that moment she couldn't shake the ghost of the memory of them from her.

Ignorant to her internal turmoil, Sasha and Christina had finally bickered themselves out and brought their findings to Faye's attention.

"It's not much, and by God they smell, but there's some clothes we can sleep in while ours dry off" Christina stated calmly, as she held out a crinkled and stained shirt for Faye. The clothes she and Sasha held weren't in much better condition.

"And I think we'll have to share the bed for warmth, well I say bed really it's just a pile of smelly straw…." Sasha trailed off in a disgruntled mutter, and they both looked at Faye, waiting for an answer.

All they received was a small nod of approval. After quickly changing, the three sisters got into bed, and started munching on the slightly stale bread they had found in the kitchen area. Harry it would seem, had not been one for cooking.

Faye's sisters soon drifted off to sleep, yet sleep would not come to her and for that she was glad. She knew her dreams would be haunted by memories she cared not to remember. She mulled over instead the figure she had seen in the window of the inn and what they could possibly do the next day. They would have to leave early, of that there was no question; to be found in the guard house with the murdered guard outside was not a situation anyone would want to find themselves in.

A plan starting to form in her mind, Faye felt slightly more settled and couldn't help a slight thrill of excitement shoot through her despite all of her misgivings.

Middle Earth. To her that really only meant one thing – _Elves_.

* * *

_What a fool. What an innocent, naïve fool I was. I should have run away from Bree screaming and dragged my sisters with me. This was not a tale for us to get swept up in, but the magnitude of it hid so many of the perils. And to think I had been so excited at the thought of Elves, when ultimately it was one of their kind that led to my downfall. I should have run…._


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sasha and Christina woke with startled gasps as Faye stood over them, gesturing for them to remain silent. It was still dark out, and they found it difficult to tell how much time had passed since they had slipped into an exhausted sleep. Faye it did not seem had slept at all.

"We must leave before it gets light. I've got us supplies"

Faye gestured to the shadowy lumps at her feet.

"We've got cloaks and trousers and food to last us for a week or so"

Christina yawned and edged out of the bed slowly, trying to work out the kinks in her back.

"But how could you find….did you steal this?" she asked sharply.

"Yes".

A simple answer, a raised eyebrow and Faye quickly turned her attention to Sasha.

"Sasha, I know you aren't going to like this, but when people are about you are going to have to keep yourself covered up".

Sasha glared at her sister moodily but understood not to argue. She knew Faye was referring to the colour of her skin. That she would have to hide herself away and she hated it, but she could not argue with the sense of it.

They were back in time, in what she was coming to accept was another world, and people with skin the colour of hers just weren't from here. Three females travelling alone would draw enough unwanted attention as it was, and with a sigh she gave Faye an acknowledging nod. A flicker of sympathy was what greeted her; Faye didn't like this situation any more than she did.

Christina was huffily looking through the stacks of supplies.

"Apples, bread and urgh, I really hope this is meat….we'll be lucky to go for a week on this. Which way are we going?"

Faye paused in her rummaging through the dead guard's belongings to compose herself.

"East. To…to Rivendell" The words sounded odd leaving her mouth, yet the sighs of relief she heard from her sisters helped her to feel it was the right choice, even if she was still struggling to believe this was all real herself.

"We must change, and cloak ourselves, and then be gone from here".

It took them only a scant few minutes to get dressed in the gloom, with grumblings from Sasha and Christina as to the quality of the clothing. It was of a coarse material, designed far more for warmth than comfort, but it would have to make do. The cloaks had a stale stench to them, yet were large enough for the hoods to cover their faces, and to serve as blankets for when they rested in the nights.

With one last look around the room to make sure they had left no evidence of their presence, the girls slipped back out into the night that was fast approaching the early morning gloom. The body of Harry still lay there, undiscovered by any save for them. It was clear this was a peaceable village, and Faye would be glad to be gone from there before the cries of alarm started.

They made their way hurriedly down the main street of Bree, sticking to the shadows as much as possible. The eastern gate of Bree was much the same as the one they'd left behind, and with a few hand signals Faye made it clear to the others that they were to climb over it to keep their presence secret.

Sasha and Christina made their way over first, straining to be as silent as possible. They were so close to escaping Bree, for that was how it felt, they did not want to be caught now. Faye soon followed but paused at the top of the wooden wall, feeling eyes upon her. Her head turned sharply and her gazed clashed with that of a man standing in the shadows of a building, not one hundred paces away. He was tall and lithe with much of his features hidden in the shadow of his cloak. His eyes were bright though and they stared directly at Faye's.

She froze, momentarily caught under the searching pools of light, yet the little of his expression that she could see was not one that she had thought to find. She had expected shock, puzzlement even fear from the locals here, but this man's face was full of an emotion she could only put down as recognition. Face blank, she held his gaze a few seconds more, before turning and disappearing over the wall. She had felt no malice in his gaze, yet the feeling that he knew her she could not shake off. She ignored the questions her sisters were asking her and her face settled in a grim expression.

"Our food won't last long if we walk; we are going to have to up the pace. We jog from now on"

It was Christina this time, not Sasha that let out a moan of dismay.

"Jogging, I hate jogging"

"Ah but Chrissie, the quicker we move, the quicker we get there and the sooner we can see elves!" Sasha said in an excited whisper. She did not fully believe that they were truly in Middle Earth, but she knew that they all had to keep in this together, and keeping Christina motivated would be key.

Christina gave her a half-hearted smile in return.

"Oh I suppose you're right", she quirked an eyebrow at Faye and flashed her a sardonic smile "After you?"

A faint smile in return and the three sisters set off, this time all of them oblivious to the intense grey eyes watching their retreating backs. There was one person in Bree at least that had noticed them.

Aragorn slipped back down the wall into Bree, his brow furrowed as he puzzled over the three females he had seen leaving the village. He had spotted them the evening before and the tallest of them, with her dark hair drawn back from her face…something about her had registered a spark of recognition in him. Yet he had been convinced he had never seen her before.

A closer look at her today and he was now certain he had never seen her, but that he had seen and that he _knew_ someone very much like her. The eyes were unmistakable. One a piercing blue, the other a dark emerald green. Eyes such as them were not common, and he knew of an identical pair, but these ones could be found in a man's face. A face that was the masculine image of the women's face he had just seen disappearing over the wall.

And if he was correct in his guess, then big changes were afoot, bigger than even he had dared to guess at. And if he were a gambling man, he'd put down a lot of money on the fact that that woman's name was Faye…

* * *

"I want to chop off my feet"

"Usually I would say you are being overdramatic Sasha but in this instance, I agree! Faye, we can't keep going this quickly. Not in these shoes"

Faye gazed down at their footwear. All were wearing fitted boots, although Sasha's and Christina's were far more stylised than Faye's and had a slight heel. Faye's were far more like walking boots yet she could see her sister's struggling. All of their attire was more suitable for town living, and certainly not for jogging over rough terrain for days on end.

"We've got to. We'll keep treating our feet the best we can, but if we slow, the food won't last. It might not even last us as it is".

They had done an itinerary of their food just that morning and they were already down to the bare bones and were only eight days into their journey. They had guessed at a steady pace they could reach what they hoped would be Rivendell, or at least be in the vicinity within thirteen days. Faye had been pushing them along perhaps quicker then she should have, and she estimated there were about three days of their journey left.

It hadn't been a pleasant journey thus far. Whether Sasha believed or didn't that they were truly in Middle Earth and that the Nazgul were real, there was no arguing with the stench of fear that kept sweeping past them. The road was at times deathly quiet, and as autumn continued its steady march the very land around them seemed stooped under an odour of decay. They had hardly dared light a fire at night for fear of attracting danger, yet the cold and wet had made it a necessity, although even the old lighter Sasha had guiltily produced form her coat pocket was running low.

All of their clothes were sodden with the persistent rain and drizzle that emptied from the sky without end. Miserable was not an adequate enough a word to describe the situation, but the three sisters glumly set about making up another basic camp for the night.

Both Sasha and Christina were weary and drifted off quickly, yet Faye found it difficult to settle. As she lay on her back staring up at the cloud filled sky she tried to place what it was about this place that so unnerved her. Colour seemed sharper and sounds, which seemed rare in this area, were startling in their clarity. Her vision blurred somewhat as she felt the grasping fingers of sleep begin to close in on her. It was not a true sleep, yet for once she was not able to shake it off as she usually could. The world became dim and once more she drifted into memories she would dearly love to never see again.

It was green eyes. Always she saw them. Sometimes full of love, sometimes sadness, but most often in pain. She couldn't ignore them, couldn't hide from them, she couldn't save them. Those eyes had been her world and she felt a stabbing pain through her chest as once more she saw them taken from her, to dim forever.

Her eyes snapped back into focus. Something had infiltrated her consciousness and she cursed herself silently at her inability to stay awake. It was too dangerous to fully lose yourself where they were. She stayed perfectly still, eyes unblinking as her ears strained to pick up any other sounds of what had woken her. She didn't have long to wake.

Voices reached her ears. Male voices, near silent whispers yet which seemed to float on a soft breeze to reach her ears, although that was little use. As in Bree, she could not understand a word. She willed her sister's to stay silent, for these men whoever they were to pass them by. The Gods, whoever they were, were not smiling on her that night.

Sasha sat up with a gasp.

"Faye, I think there's something out there" she hissed out.

Faye didn't even have a chance to respond before four men entered the small clearing they had made for themselves. By this point Christina had awoken and she and Sasha sat as close to each other as possible. Faye had risen to her feet, tensed for action, yet she knew there was not much she could do at what looked like four fully armed men, with her sisters just awoken from sleep.

All four of the men worse strange clothing to the sisters' eyes, although Faye did not even wonder that they must have appeared equally strange. The men's clothing was think, coarse and predominantly brown and black. They wore leather jerkins and long travel stained cloaks. Their vambrace's gave hint to the fact that these men were not ordinary travellers, only proven further by each man wearing a heavy belt with a sword strapped to their sides. Faye was thankful at least that they had not as yet seen fit to draw them.

One of the figures spoke, and all three women's eyes snapped in his direction. He appeared older than the others, with flecks of grey appearing in his hair and full beard. He ignored Sasha and Christina completely and kept his eyes focused on Faye.

He said the same phrase but received only blank stares in return, as Sasha and Christina climbed slowly to their feet and edged towards Faye, unnerved further as the men stepped closer to form a circle around them.

The man, the leader Faye assumed him to be, tried again with a thoughtful gleam in his eyes. This time the words he used were different, and Sasha and Christina let out startled gasps. Faye herself felt her breath still, yet her face remained frozen. She would give nothing away to that man.

"Elvish". Christina had hardly dared breath the word yet Faye knew that she was correct. What was even more startling was that Faye understood. It had been years, not since she was a small child since she'd heard it. Her parents, ever loving of Tolkien's creations, had often wittered phrases to her, yet she hadn't known that they had taught her so much, yet she couldn't deny that she could understand it. A fog seemed to fill her head as memories fought to break free yet she stubbornly pressed it back. Now was not the time to remember it, to learn why she knew it. Perhaps there would never be a right time.

She knew that communicating with these people could help them, yet the thought of responding in kind, of acknowledging that she understood at least in part, sent warning bells screaming in her head. She could admit it to herself if not to her sisters; the thought of it filled her with fear.

Oblivious to her internal dilemma, the man tried again.

"_Who are you? Why are you here?"_

Again he looked at no one but her, yet Faye could hear the murmurings of the other men surrounding them.

"_Three females, travelling alone, and one a Southron. This isn't normal, and most definitely not in these times. We must take them"._

Sasha and Christina huddled in closer behind Faye, their hands itching towards their pockets, yet hardly a shake of the head from Faye stilled their hands. Whoever these men were, she did not want them to know that she and her sisters were armed. It was natural where they came from, in a world torn apart by war for men and women alike to be able to defend themselves. She did not think that to be the case here, yet regardless if the men mean them harm or not, the element of surprise was something she wanted in their favour.

She had not taken her eyes from the man in front of her. The silence stretched until he slowly lifted an arm and pointed a finger directly at her.

"Faye".

"What the – how the hell does he know you?!" Sasha exclaimed as Christina couldn't suppress a startled gasp.

A grim smile crossed the man's face as he took her sisters' reactions as confirmation. He gestured to himself. "Feldan"

"Oh my God he's trying to communicate with us" Christina squeaked out, he eyes wide with fear. She darted a look at Faye to see how they should respond and was amazed to see her sister gesturing to her.

"Christina" She allowed a moment for the man to repeat the name before pointing to Sasha.

"Sasha".

Dark murmurings from the other men broke out as Sasha stepped forward, her hesitating smile slipping slowly from her face. Christina glared around at all of them, knowing just why Sasha was not being as well received.

"Ignorant asses. What, have they never seen different coloured skin before?!" She stared angrily around at the men, forgetting for the moment the situation they were on, and with a slight smile, Feldan gestured for the others to be silent.

"It's okay Chrissie" Sasha murmured quietly, drawing her cloak tighter around her. "I honestly don't think that they have".

"That doesn't make it right though" Christina grumbled, yet smiled as Sasha squeezed her hand in thanks.

Faye had not taken her gaze from the form of Feldan. Whatever threat these men posed to her and her sister's, she did not sense immediate danger from them. And despite her understanding of Elvish sending thrills of fear through her she knew that it could mean but one thing. If her memory was correct, according to the tales of Tolkien these men were rangers of the North and friends of elves. That to her meant one thing – Rivendell.

Feldan made a gesture towards the fire and the men quickly set about stoking it and enlarging their camp. Sasha and Christina sat down hesitantly but it seemed to take an age for Faye to join them, and when she did, she did not look at them yet only murmured quietly.

"Try to get some sleep. I will keep watch. I do not think these men mean us harm, and if they can lead us to Rivendell, so much the better".

Her sister's knew not to argue.

Feldan and his companions talked long into the dark night, although they threw strange looks in Faye's direction. She sat perfectly still, seemingly looking at nothing, and certainly not reacting to anything around them. After a while they felt like they could talk more freely.

"_Well what do you make of them Feldan? She did not blink when you said her name. It must surely be her though"_

"_It is her. And if not, then it must be some other relation. There are no mistaking those eyes, and Aidan has spoken of her enough"_

As Feldan said Aidan's name he kept his eyes trained on Faye. He at least was not convinced at her lack of understanding, not if the stories from Aidan were anything to go by. He was only set for disappointment. There was not a blink, not an intake of breath, no acknowledging gleam in her eyes and he felt his surety waver. Surely there would have been some sort of reaction?

He shrugged silently to himself. Even if she were not who he thought, she and her companions would still need to be taken to Rivendell. With the days darkening, anything strange would need to be brought to Elrond's attention.

As he and his fellow rangers continued their talk, they were utterly oblivious to the torrent of emotions they had set off in Faye as her face seemingly turned to stone, stared blankly into the fire.

* * *

_Aidan. My cousin, my brother, my twin...my other. The half of me that was always missing. Years I had lost him, yet the thought of finding him again filled me with so much fear and anger it is a wonder I didn't break there and then. The abandonment I'd felt when I'd lost him had been filled by a void of cold hate. A simmering anger that would block him out as surely was best for him. It would only hurt him to get close to me again – how could I let myself forget it? And his end was an end I had never imagined, not even in my darkest moments. Forgetful fool that I was...that I am. Push him away stupid girl, keep him far far away – why did I never learn?_


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter

Chapter 4

Dawn had broken without Faye getting even a wink of sleep. She wasn't sure how long she'd stayed sitting, staring into the flames, but as the cold of the ground had slowly started to seep into her bones, she'd had no choice but to get up and start moving. The ranger on watch hadn't been too happy about that, but she hadn't gone far, still well in sight of the camp, but at least she had the chance to stretch her legs.

She rested her hand against a scraggy tree for a short moment as a wave of weariness hit her, and against her will her vision blurred, just as it had done the previous evening. Alarm swept through her as once more she failed to control it.

Sunlight was gleaming all around her, as she swirled her feet lazily in the babbling brook in front of her. Her hand was held by another raven haired figure, a boy of her age, six years old, with a mass of curls atop his head and with eyes that matched hers perfectly.

"I wish ada would let you stay more" her voice was serious and he clutched her hand tighter in response.

"Me too, life's much more fun with you". Gleaming eyes, a shared smile, then an impish grin as he splashed water at her.

Their shrieks and squeals soon brought another their way. He strode through the woods, calling for them as he edged closer.

"C'mon little fairy! Where are the two of you hiding?"

And then she saw him, arms reaching for her as his green eyes gleamed. Her protector, her joy, her –

Faye was dragged harshly from her memory as a hand clamped on her shoulder. Without even thinking, she turned into it, a fighting dagger almost magically appearing in her hand. As she sought for control she could not prevent the widening of her eyes at the rush of emotion.

It was Feldan that had grabbed her, seeking only to gain her attention, and so distracted was he by her eyes, he failed to note the dagger slashing his way. She stopped it, just a hairsbreadth from his neck. He glanced down askance and as his eyes returned to her face it was a blank canvas once more. With eyes like granite, she took a step back, her dagger disappearing back into her sleeve as she inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement.

Anger was starting to build in his gaze as he fully realised what had happened. She was armed. Mordor take him but he would bet a horse all three of them were. His eyes narrowed in suspicion but Faye's expression did not change. Her blank face continued to stare at him till he grunted at her and gestured she make her way back to the camp.

He did not trust her, far from it, yet she had had the perfect opportunity there to not only hurt him, but to kill him – and she'd stopped herself. The sour thought flickered briefly that she had let him live only because she and her companions needed them but he shrugged it away. His mind was racing as he mulled over this new information and he was now more and more certain that this woman, for all her appearances, could not be Faye.

Aidan had described a young girl full of life, laughter and cheer. A person so full of the joys of living, of caring, of peace; there was just no possible way this woman in front of him could be the same one.

Yet these were dark times they were living in, he had to remind himself, who knew what her story was. From the emptiness in her face, and the hardness in her eyes, he could only assume that hers was a dark tale indeed.

Faye was quickly bombarded by Sasha and Christina as she returned to the camp. Both her sisters were looking worse for wear, their hair beyond tangled as not one of them carried a comb, their clothing stained, wet and stinking and it had been well over a week since any of them had had a chance to bathe. An inward grimace and Faye conceded that she herself could not be looking much better.

Christina had a slight limp as she walked towards her, her light green eyes dulled slightly with pain as Sasha threw questions at her.

"Where were you? What did he say to you? Will they help us? Are they to be trusted? What do we do?"

She had said all of this in one breath and a slight quirking of Faye's eyebrow was acknowledged by a bashful grin.

"I know, I know, too many questions, right? But seriously, are we safe with them?"

Faye paused slightly as she knelt in front of Christina, gesturing for the read head to sit, before she nodded briefly. Sasha's sigh of relief was palpable.

Christina hissed in pain slightly as Faye eased her boot of her foot, yet her attention was only half on her sister's foot as her ears, whether she willed them to or no, were picking up the whispered strains of conversation from the men in the camp.

"_We must be on our guard, they are armed"_ Feldan was explaining _"The taller one, Faye perhaps, she drew a blade on me"_ he gestured for calm at the growls of anger that emanated from the other three rangers. _"The fault was mine, I startled her, and she did me no harm – but still, they must be watched"_

"_We must get them to Rivendell with all haste, yet I do not think that will be possible today"_ one of the younger rangers gestured to the women sat on the ground. The woman with the red hair's feet they could see, were in a bad condition. Feldan's brows furrowed with worry.

Blisters were painful at the best of times, but if they had burst in these damn and dirty conditions infection and rot could set in, which could lead to all sorts of complications. He braced himself before he approached them, not knowing just how Faye (if indeed it was she) would accept his offer of aid.

Retrieving a small phial from inside his cloak, he approached before hesitantly speaking Christina's name, the very sound seeming alien to him.

Christina glanced up startled, her freckled face pale as she glanced worriedly between him, the phial and her sisters. A grim smile of satisfaction spread over his face. Indeed he has assumed right. Neither of these women – Christina or the one with the dark skin – would decide anything without Faye's approval.

How or even why she had so much control over them he could not guess. Someone so cold and unfeeling did not strike him as a leading figure to follow yet he paused his thoughts for a moment as he recalled the flash of feeling he had seen when she'd drawn her blade on him. No, this woman had feeling, but it was buried, deep deep down inside and with the glimpse that he had seen, Feldan could not help but think it was safer that way.

A movement from Faye drew his attention, and she saw her hand outstretched for the phial, face still blank, yet there was a slight raising of an eyebrow almost as though asking a question.

"_It is a salve, to be placed on her wounds. It helps prevent infection"_

He didn't know why he had bothered to explain, yet Faye nodded just once as though understanding before taking the phial from him. She murmured quietly to the dark skinned one, Sasha, who quickly set to work with smearing the salve onto her sisters' skin.

Faye felt the tension ease from her shoulders slightly as Feldan retreated back to his men. There seemed an unhappy agreement between them for now, but Faye was not fooling herself that they were anything other than effectively their prisoners. Dagger blades would be almost futile against four armed men, especially now that she had lost the element of surprise and she cursed herself silently for her loss of control.

Three times it had happened since they had woken in what seemed to be Middle Earth and Faye was at a loss as to how to control it. For years she had mastered her memories, but now they were stumbling upon her even in her waking hours. Feldan had caught her completely off guard. If that had been an enemy, she would have been finished. She _could not_ let it happen again, not with Sasha and Christina depending on her.

"It was nice of him, wasn't it, to lend us this salve?" Sasha murmured quietly. She had been getting more and more withdrawn as the days went on, as the reality of the situation was becoming harder to ignore and Faye wondered just when the outpouring of emotion would come from her most vocal sister. Sasha was passion personified, yet the conditions and the suspicious looks she was receiving from the men had truly deflated her.

"Yes it was" Christina murmured as she wrinkled her nose slightly as she placed her sock and boot back on. It was by no means an ideal fix, yet she could feel the slight numbing of the pain in her foot already meaning she would at least be able to walk properly today.

Faye knew it was an uneasy quiet that was settling over her two sisters but she had neither the means nor the knowhow to distract them, not while they were stuck out in the wild. A mood of depression seemed to settle further over their small group as her sisters prepared themselves for a short trip to go and "answer the call of nature" as Sasha referred to it.

They had been ten days without modern facilities and a grim expression flitted over Faye's face as she considered the distance they still had to travel, if indeed it was Rivendell that they were headed towards. She was not sure her sister's would be able to hold it together. As she glanced at the four men now staring at her, she stood fluidly, her right eyebrow slightly quirked once more. If her sister's couldn't do it, then she would hold everything together for them.

It took them three long, horrible days to reach their destination. The weather had taken yet another turn for the worse so instead of the steady drizzle of the last few days it was now an out and out downpour. To make matters worse the rangers, which Faye still assumed they were, avoided the road like the plague. The wilds around them were harsh and scraggy and it was hard going on all three of them.

The nights were drawing in, with damp clouds blocking out even the tiniest hint of stars, and the greenery that had been around them shortly after leaving Bree was now a dank and sodden brown. It was as though the very life was seeping out of the land, as autumn marched on to greet winter's death embrace.

The fleeting feelings of fear were still upon them, but had markedly reduced since they had abandoned the road. The rangers for the most part kept to themselves, two in front and two behind making it clear they were still guarding the sisters. There were benefits of travelling with them however, notably better camp fires and the provision of fresh meat.

It had disgusted all three of the sisters to see rabbits and birds butchered and prepared for eating right in front of them, yet even Faye had had to stifle a smile at Christina and Sasha's reactions. The men had seemed baffled by their horror, yet Faye herself could not recall the last time any of them had seen raw meat.

Back home, butchers and supermarkets no longer existed. In the last decade war had broken out once more and fresh food had been increasingly hard to find. All three had been grateful for the broth; sparse as it was, it was the best meal they had eaten in a long time.

For her part, Faye watched everything that they did. If the reality was truly that they were in a different world, a different time, then they would need to learn new skills to adapt. If Feldan and the other rangers noticed her attentiveness they did not pass comment, at least not in any language she could understand.

It was on the morning of their twelfth day out from Bree, with Faye now seriously worried about the deterioration in her sisters, that they finally arrived. It was as though they had passed through an invisible border. Suddenly the feeling of gloom was lifted. There was a new spring in the rangers' steps, as though they sensed safety was close to hand. The sounds of water that had been dreary before now sounded sparkling and full of life. Even though it was well into autumn, colour began to reappear in the world.

They were walking along a softly beaten track, tall trees on either side when Christina and Sasha gasped in unison as the sound of voices reached them. They were light, musical and contained a depth to them that they had never heard before. As all three women clocked sight of the owners of the voices they all froze as one. Clothed in leggings and tunics, with long flowing dark hair and skin that seemed almost to glow, and all of them armed – Faye, Sasha and Christina came face to face with elves for the first time.

Their worlds were turned upside down.

* * *

_Elves I had looked up to. Elves I had imagined as being perfect. Elves were never the beings I thought I would encounter that would ruin me – but they did. Whatever magic it is they possess, however they dig their way inside, Elves have the ability to see all. And they saw me, they saw straight through me, although I little knew that at the time. I was a rock, I was hard, I was unmoving – I never knew then that I had stepped into the place that would start the process that would see me crack. Elves are not lovers of rock and they did not love me. _


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter

**A/N:** A quicker update than usual, albeit a slightly shorter chapter. Please if you can spare the time, can you let me know how you think it's going? I really would appreciate it. And to my new follower, LuvWolves4ever – welcome! I hope you all enjoy this new chapter.

Chapter 5

Faye stood there as one stunned. As the four rangers greeted the elves, gesturing to Faye and her sisters whilst talking heatedly, the eyes of the elves rarely left them. With each piercing glance Faye felt as though shards of ice were penetrating her heart, turning her blood cold. She knew not what it was about them, what terrified her so, but the sheer depth of years in their gazes made her want to tremble.

Sasha and Christina weren't fairing much better. Christina's jaw had dropped and a slight flush had appeared on her cheeks. Practically bug eyed she gazed at them, yet there was a joy and excitement in her gaze that Faye couldn't bring herself to comprehend. The tales of Middle Earth had always struck a chord with her red headed sister, for her perhaps her dreams were coming true.

Sasha on the other hand was gazing at them like a person awaking from a horrible nightmare, only to discover that it was truly real. Eyes filling with tears she turned from them wildly, breath gasping as her hand clutched at Faye's arm for support.

"We're here, they're real, we're actually...gods we're here, they're real, how are they real, how are we here, how is this possible..."

She was pouring forth her internal dialogue in an act of openness of her feelings that a person so guarded as Faye found almost painful to watch. As Sasha's breathing began to get more and more erratic, the contemplative penetrating gazes of the elves quickly turned to ones of concern.

As one of them stepped forward Faye instinctively blocked the elf's path. His eyes narrowed somewhat but other than that his face was as expressionless as hers. Eye to eye, it was one of the strangest stand off's Faye had ever encountered. Her face unreadable with her thoughts in turmoil she did not take her eyes from his. They were a hazel of such enormous depth she wondered at what sights he'd beheld over the years. If anything gave elves away, despite their flawless skin and pointed ears it would always be their eyes. Nothing could convey feeling and memory like them.

As the elf finally backed down, a feeling shot through Faye but she couldn't initially place what it was. A slightly strangled gasp was all the notice she was given as she whirled to catch Sasha as she fainted. Christina rushed to help her carry Sasha, and as the party of rangers and elves they were with finally started to move once more, Faye realised what the feeling had been; disappointment. She knew her gaze was cold, she knew her face was blank, but whether she had known it or not she had wished for the elves to be able to see past it, to see through it.

Ice settling in her veins once more and with a blank look of worry towards her sisters, she started walking once more. The elves looked like they wished to offer them aid, yet the flat gaze of Faye's was enough to dissuade them. Until they reached a building it was probably best that Sasha remained unconscious – full blown hysteria was not something Faye could deal with right now, and as she shared a serious look with Christina, she knew her other sister agreed.

It took shorter then Faye imagined to reach actual civilization at last. As the path they were on narrowed, and the trees crowded about them, they broke through suddenly into a wide space. Clouds of mist billowed up into the air in the distance, indicating to the multitude of rushing streams making their way into the valley. In the growing twilight pale flames of candles started to flicker into life as lantern after lantern was slowly lit. Rivendell she remembered was always referred to as The Last Homely House, but it was far more than just one building. There was a main hall, but the narrow walkways and paths led to a multitude of buildings. Each beautiful in their own way, covered with delicate and intricate carvings on their wooden exteriors. Faye and Christina stood, propping Sasha up between them, gazing around them in awe. Christina, again with mouth agape looked as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing was real. It was often the expression to be seen on a human's face as they first saw Rivendell and the elves in their company smiled to see it. Faye's face at first glance still appeared blank, yet her eyes softened as she looked around. A slight thawing inside as she could scarce take in the beauty and a slight softening of her eyes, to ones who knew her well she was expressing lots, to those other than Christina in her company, saw only a cold, hard woman.

Another elf was quickly approaching. Again he had long dark chestnut hair, but instead of the tunic and leggings of his fellows he wore long billowing robes of a rich material. Confusion was in his face as he took in the odd group assembled but before he could speak, Feldan who had been long silent step forward.

"Lindir, forgive me, but please let us speak in Westron, I have reason to believe one of these females speaks Sindarin, yet for all the information they provide I cannot know for sure".

The elf, Lindir, nodded his acquiescence, a small frown furrowing his fair face and the ranger hurried to explain.

"We found them not three days from here, garbed as you can see in their strange clothing, not speaking a word of Westron and apparently no Elvish although the taller one I believe understands it. Look at her Lindir, does she not remind you of someone? Is she not exactly as has been described?"

The elf turned his dark brown gaze to the three female figures and as his eyes clashed with Faye's he gave a small cry of astonishment. Brown locked on blue and green he even took a half step forward before he remembered himself.

"Can it be? Long has he missed her, but how then came they here? Mithrandir said he was a one off, an impossibility, how now can there be another three?"

"I know not, Lindir, but you understand now why I brought them here?"

Lindir nodded in slow agreement, eyes still locked on Faye's.

"Aye Feldan, you did right, fear not. We must take them to Lord Elrond".

A sharp intake from Christina drew Lindir's attention to her and she all bit quailed under his gaze. She hadn't been able to help herself; she may not have understood what they were saying but the name Elrond she knew. Fear crept in to her gaze and she subconsciously tried to step closer to Faye, forgetting that Sasha still remained between them. For once though, Faye was not helping. There was no distraction to save Christina from those bottomless eyes, or least not the distraction she had anticipated.

A whimper broke through the clearing, a keening noise of such pain it took them all longer than it should have to place it. Christina had gazed around wildly but it was not until she felt the full weight of Sasha slump against her that she realised the noise had come from Faye. Turning in panic, and half slumping to the floor under the weight of Sasha's body she saw to her horror Faye all but doubled over, her left hand clutching her head in a spasm of pain, a dagger drawn in her right as though to fend off some invisible foe.

"Faye? Faye! What's wrong?" Christina cried out in panic and as the men and elves surrounding them stepped forward she dropped Sasha to the ground and stepped in front of her two sisters, a blade from her sleeve drawn as she all bit hissed at them, her fear clear to all.

"Just back off will you? Back off!" Almost too scared to take her eyes from those in front of her, Christina cast a quick glance over her shoulder. Sasha looked to be stirring slightly yet Faye had now worsened, with one knee on the floor, her face a grimace of pain as her left hand shook to support her – her right hand remained armed.

"Oh Gods, what do I do? What do I do?!" The commotion Christina was causing was not unnoticed by the inhabitants of Rivendell. It was not too long before three more elves appeared, one with his hair tied in parts in intricate braids leading the way. As those surrounding her bowed slightly in deference, Christina gave an audible gulp – this then, had to be Lord Elrond. Her mind battled against her to truly believe it as he stepped closer towards her, but another whimper from Faye sprung her back into action and she slashed out wildly; anything to get them to keep their distance.

A part of her knew her actions were stupid, they were not going to help the situation at all but all logic had disappeared as Faye had given in to pain. Faye was _never_ hurt. She was never weak, she never crumbled and she was always the one that took the role of protector. Being cast into that position without warning was not something Christina was equipped to deal with.

"Christina..." it was scarcely more than a moan, but it was enough for the red head to whip her head around in distraction. As iron strong arms wrapped around her, a vice like hand squeezing relentlessly on her wrist to force her to drop her weapon, she cursed herself silently. Never take your eyes off your enemy, never – hadn't Faye drilled that into her over the years? But it had been Faye who had called her, and Christina struggled in vain to try and reach her.

"Let me GO, god dammit, can't you see she's in pain? Let me be!" She could not see who her captor was, and as her fingers began to go numb she watched in horror as her blade clattered to the ground. Realising she could not break free she focused entirely on her still conscious sister.

"Faye? Faye what is it? What's wrong?"

A deep shudder from her usually strong sister, a weary lifting of the head and Christina had to bite back a gasp of fear at the pain she saw in Faye's eyes. Even the elves that had been approaching slowly, still weary of the dagger in Faye's hand, paused.

Blood draining from her already pale features, Faye struggled to focus on Christina, focus in on her green eyes, so different from those that always haunted her dreams, and she had to fight to force the words out.

"He is here".

Terror like she had never known slammed into Christina as she saw Faye's eyes roll up into the back of her head as she passed out. With a strength she didn't know she possessed she fought madly in her captors arms, almost breaking free, as her screams breaking into hysteria sounded in the clearing as she cried out for Faye.

A strong, cool hand to her forehead, some murmured words, and then Christina like her two sisters, knew no more.

* * *

_He was there. He was there and it was tearing my mind in two. Just as it had when he'd first left me, first abandoned me...first broke me. He was there and it made me weak. It was there and it hurt me like almost nothing had before. He was there and it was the start of the end. My sisters' end. His end. My end. _


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** see first chapter

**A/N:** To my new follower – Aria Breuer – welcome! And here's another quick update, how you all like it, I'd really love to know what you all think of it.

Chapter 6

He held her hand, and his was so much larger her hand felt dwarfed, encased, protected, safe as he laughed and pulled her along with him. She gazed up at him, her eyes meeting his, his two orbs of emerald green shining down on her, filled with love. Her Green Eyes, her protector. She smiled back at him.

It was a glorious day, a day to be remembered, a day that was all things good. Laughing he sang to her, an old tune their parents had once sung, and she beamed to hear it. Her Green Eyes, her big brother who became a parent to her after they had so cruelly lost their own.

Clouds gathered and a small frown appeared on her face to see them. Chuckling he bent down and with his other hand he smoothed the lines away, tapping her on the nose gently to chide her, making her giggle. He always could make her laugh. As his eyes met hers it was as though time stopped, pure green pools of joy, of laughter, of happiness - but then happiness never could last. She should have learnt that by now.

The clouds around them had turned black and eyes still locked she saw the joy turn to pain. A flash of metal, of deep red blood and the sickening sound as again and again it connected with flesh. Pain was swiftly turning to horror.

"Little fairy...run!" desperation in his voice, anguish and worst of all fear. Green Eyes was never scared, he was there to keep her safe, wasn't he?

Green Eyes were becoming dim.

"Run..." it was a choked out gurgle, blood dripping from his mouth as she gazed on in horror, still unable to tear her own eyes away. She saw her Green Eyes die.

Faye sat up with a gasp, ice cold sweat covered her as she sought to regain her breath, her eyes wide as they stared wildly around the room, trying to reassure herself that she was awake, that she was alive, that what she'd just seen was no more than a bad dream albeit one steeped in memory. Her hands clutched reassuringly at the bed covers beneath them, something solid for her to hold on to, to ground her as she took stock of her situation.

She was in a large room, in a bed with an intricate wooden frame. There were no doors leading on to the balcony and a cool breeze teased its way into the room, fluttering the gauzy curtains that kept most of the moonshine out. There was one small lantern lit above the fire place, whose dying ember glows gave her sign that whilst it was late, it was not yet the dead of night. Glancing to her right, she subconsciously relaxed. There were two other beds in the room with her and as she looked upon Sasha and Christina sleeping soundly she briefly allowed a small smile to pass over her face, before her brows furrowed in confusion.

She remembered only faintly taking her first look at Rivendell, before she felt as though her mind was being cloven in two. Glancing down she saw that she had been placed in a nightgown, hugely old fashioned to her eyes, and she grimaced at the thought of being changed without her knowledge, of being placed anywhere without her knowledge. How vulnerable had she been? How had Christina handled it? She was half tempted to wake her sister and ask her to find out, before deciding it was a discussion best left until morning. Her head still throbbed slightly, but it was nothing to the pain she had experienced before. A flicker of fear passed through her when she remembered what had caused it but she blocked the thought out furiously, determined not to let it weaken her again.

Sliding her feet over the edge of the bed, she felt a shiver shoot up her spine as her feet connected with the cold floor. She padded as silently as possible past the row of beds where there was the shadow of a doorway. Stepping through she saw that it was a bathing room of sorts, and as she spotted a bench, with a large hole neatly carved out of the middle a true grimace really did cross over her face, now that there was no one here to see it. It would seem indoor plumbing had yet to reach Middle Earth.

Having relieved herself, she conducted a thorough search of the rooms, or as much as she could without disturbing her sisters. She discovered a wardrobe full of flowing dresses yet alarmingly could find no trace of her own clothes; nor her weapons either. Thoroughly nonplussed she stepped out onto the balcony and as the stars shone in the deepening night sky, and pale lantern lights twinkled all around she blinked sleepily as though slipping into a glimmer of a dream.

There was a freshness to the air that caused her to breathe in deeply, as her head fell back and her mismatched eyes gazed upon the stars. She started slightly at the feel of her hair, loose for a change brushing against her arms in a tangle of curls. Turning slowly in a circle she looked on, tracing the patterns in the night sky that were so utterly alien to her, but that were leaving her with a feeling of such enormity she felt almost afraid to look away.

Faye didn't know how long she stood and gazed, but snatches of music and song reached her ears and she moved as one who was sluggish and deep in dreaming to the edge of the balcony, and her eyes caught sight in the distance of a group of elves wending their way through the valley, who were quickly disappearing out of sight.

It was almost as a spectator that she watched her own arms and legs reach out from the corner of the balcony to latch on to the branches of a nearby tree. Almost without blinking she found herself on solid ground, her feet sinking into cool grass that was damp with dew. As though the moisture lent her a vigour that had eluded her since she had awoken she started to run, flitting through the trees with no sense of direction or purpose but just enjoying what it was to truly feel _alive_. For so long she had kept herself locked up that this sudden freedom sent a burst of exhilaration through her that drew a startled laugh from her chest, the sound utterly alien to her with it having been so long since she'd heard it.

The trees were growing denser around her until all of a sudden she burst through into a clearing, drawing a startled gasp from a being that was already stood there. Faye had never seen an elf in the moonlight before and the cold of the ground under her feet, the tickle of the grass or no, she was convinced that she was dreaming.

His golden hair, for a male it was, seemed to glimmer almost silver, and his eyes of light blue locked in on her as she broke into the clearing, freezing her in her tracks. They were not cold eyes though, they burned with an intensity that seemed to scald her. He was dressed in leggings and a loose fitting robe of a dark green and he stared at her endlessly as though he too were frozen. She didn't know how long they stood there, eyes locked, when as though shaking himself from a dream he took slow steps towards her, puzzlement clear on his face.

"_And what fay spirit are you to appear so abruptly, as one who has stumbled into a dream?"_

His voice was like music and as he drew closer Faye could feel herself start to tremble at the word he had called her. He couldn't have got closer to using her actual name if he had tried. As though sensing her nervousness, he made soothing noises as an arm gently raised and his hand rested on her upper arm, pulling her gently toward him. He was tall, and as he gazed down upon her his other hand cupped her cheek to tilt her head upwards.

"_Will you not tell me your name? Or must I guess?"_

He teased her gently and with it a smile graced his face, lighting up his features in a way that made Faye gasp. His thumb brushed her cheek and she felt as though it was leaving a trail of fire on her flesh. She could not pull her eyes from his. He had called her fay, but truly he was the sprite. Surely he was wielding some magic to trap her so easily.

"_Come little fairy, will you not speak?"_

His eyes twinkling with a hidden light sought answers from her own. They were not prepared to see what those words would unleash.

Little fairy, little fairy, little fairy...the two words clattered around her head but it was not the voice of this elf that she could hear. Green Eyes was calling to her, shouting at her to run, eyes full of laughter, fully of joy turning to pain and fear and then nothingness. With a strangled gasp Faye tore herself from the blonde elf's grasp and with one look of open fear showing on her face, of pain at her memories that she could not bring herself to shield, she ran away.

She was heedless as to whether the elf tried to pursue her, her breathe coming in painful gasps as she retraced her steps. It seemed to take her a lot longer to get back to the tree she had climbed than it had taken her to reach the clearing but she didn't pause to consider that. Scrambling up the tree she clambered back into the bedroom and stood there for a while, chest heaving as she tried to steady herself.

Time trickled by slowly until she felt calm enough to move. Quietly approaching the fire, she stoked the very few embers back into life, silently adding another log, desperate to bring some warmth into the room. Moving back then to the bed, she sat upon it, back straight and stared blindly forward as she set about putting herself back together. She knew come the dawn she would have to be at her strongest. She had given herself this one night to feel, but it was time to lock that Faye away again.

It was just before the dawn that Sasha and Christina started to stir. Faye had not moved even an inch. With grumbles and yawns her two sisters slowly awoke, yet their eyes became more alert as they spotted Faye awake and alert and they rushed over to join her on her bed, both of them flinging their arms around her.

"You're awake! Oh thank gods, don't you dare scare me like that again, do you hear?" Christina half scolded and half pleaded with her, but all Faye could do was to hug her in return.

"You've been asleep two days you know" Sasha added seriously. Her deep brown eyes were still somewhat dim, yet they had lost the shine of panic and hysteria that had been bothering Faye so much before. "I think even the elves here were really starting to worry they couldn't help you".

Christina let out a highly unladylike snort at that.

"Help? If that's what you want to call it. They have been treating us as though we are some puzzle that they wish to solve, and so many have tried to get a look at you Faye!" seeing her dark haired sister's slight quirk of an eyebrow, Christina quickly rushed on "but we kept away as many as we could. Only Elrond... I swear I will never get used to saying that! But yeah, Elrond and one other healer have really been in here".

"We've tried asking for our things back" Sasha added, before a heavy frown settled on her face. "We've had no luck though, they can't understand a word we're saying, although who can't understand someone miming a knife?"

"Well Sasha to be fair, making wild slashing moves at them wasn't _quite_ the best idea when we are stranger here, hmm?" Christina teased and Faye felt her mouth quirk slightly to one side in amusement. Two sets of serious eyes soon faced her though.

"Before...before you passed out Faye, you said 'he is here', but I don't get it, I didn't feel anything". Christina was quite obviously confused, and Faye closed her eyes briefly as she considered how to answer.

"It was not..._him_, but he...Aidan, I think he's here".

For Faye the realisation that Aidan was close by felt like a death knoll. Her sister's had an entirely different reaction, indeed giddy excitement was what greeted her.

"Seriously?!" Sasha all but shrieked. "But that's _brilliant!_ He's been missing for so long".

"Oh Faye!" Christina couldn't help but hug her sister once more. "We'll all be together again, it will be just like before..." she trailed off awkwardly, not knowing how to finish as she felt Faye tense at her words. Sasha quickly hugged the two of them again to cover the slightly strained moment.

"It is a good thing" she insisted, even though no one had voiced any concerns.

It was with the three of them embracing on the bed that there was a light knocking on the door followed swiftly by the appearance of two elves. Both were male again and Faye wondered in slight bemusement whether she'd ever see a female one. One had hair of dark brown, the other of golden yellow. Faye had tensed slightly at the sight of blonde hair, but her shoulders relaxed minutely when she saw it was a different elf entirely to the one she had seen, or perhaps imagined, the night before.

"_We are very glad to see you have awaken my lady_" The elf with brown hair commented softly in Sindarin, yet Faye gave no indication that she had understood. With a quick glance between them, the blonde stepped forward.

"_I am Nethrin, a healer in these halls, and this is Lord Erestor who aids our Lord Elrond in the governance of Rivendell"_.

Again, Faye kept her face a mask.

With the elves getting visibly more irritated with each sentence she ignored it was finally Christina that broke the three women's silence.

"She won't answer you, you know. I would stop bothering if I were you". Two pairs of intent eyes snapped towards her but she refused to falter.

"We don't understand you" Sasha added simply, pointing to her mouth before shaking her head with a confused expression. It was clear the elves got her meaning. Erestor, with his eyes narrowed slightly raised a hand and pointed one long finger at Faye.

"_She does"._

Faye again said nothing. With another quickly shared glance the two elves departed, although no sooner had they left then a female elf arrived with a tray of food. She said nothing as the placed the tray on a cabinet nestled against the wall. Her eyes washed over the three of them, assessing them, but what she thought they could not read from her face.

As the door closed behind her Sasha let out a gust of air.

"Blimey, that was tense. And Faye, they're almost as hard to read as you are!"

"Bet that's what's got them so huffy" Christina quipped before taking herself over to the tray.

"Faye, c'mon" Sasha grabbed her hand and pulled her from the bed. "One thing about this place is the food, and you look like you need it!"

A quirk of a dark eyebrow drew a chuckle from Sasha and Christina, as they quickly set to eating the food. It bothered Faye somewhat that the elves had not sought to check if she was fully okay, but she supposed they had ways of their own for checking. And she half wondered just why Erestor at least was so adamant, and rightly so, that she understood Sindarin.

She paused mid chew as the reason hit her.

Aidan.

If he was here, and they knew him, then they'd know all about her. Forcing herself to keep eating, to give Sasha and Christina a front that she was perfectly okay, she mulled it over. It could just be that the elves here knew far more about Faye than any strangers had the right to and she knew she'd have to tread carefully. For the safety of her sisters alone, how Faye handled the next few days she knew would have long lasting effects.

_A dream I thought I'd had, but was it? What is a dream now and what was reality, for too often it seems they became blurred. And all throughout was the ghost of Aidan. He'd left me, left me, broken me and now he was back and he'd told all about me. He'd told and I never did find out just how much he'd said. I should have known. I should have asked. But I hated asking, I hated needing help. I was Faye, I didn't need anybody. I was Faye, and I was stupid. _


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing save for the original characters and part of the plot. Everything else is Tolkien's

**A/N:** This chapter was very difficult for me. I'm at a bit of a crossroads as to where I want to go with it, so get a bit stuck. I really would love to know your thoughts on it so if you could drop me a quick line and let me know, I'd really very much appreciate it. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 7

A week had passed since Faye had awoken in Rivendell, yet bar her one night time excursion, neither she nor her sisters had left the four walls of their room. Their door was not locked, there were no guards in the hall outside yet none of them could shake the feeling that they were not yet quite welcome.

They were surprised daily by what they came across which in part may have led to their slight feeling of unease in leaving the room. The clothing for starters bemused them greatly. No matter how much Christina and Sasha mimed, they were unable to procure anything from the silent females that appeared each morning but dresses. No tunics or leggings were seemingly to be found much to all three of the sisters' annoyance. Dresses were all well and good but it had been years since they had worn them.

The conflict from home had reached the point where they had been continuously on the move, and long flowing skirts would have been nothing but a hindrance. For the last three years they had been living as nomads, continuously on edge and to now be clothed in material that restricted their movement, Faye especially was feeling disgruntled.

The clothing itself though, they couldn't deny, was of amazing intricacy. The detail of the stitching, embroidery and even the quality of the material was something they had not come across before. They were predominantly browns, greens and greys and when combined with the under shift were rather weighty.

Ignoring the elegance of the dress, both Sasha and Christina were sprawled across their bends in a most un-lady like fashion. Faye was stood with her back to the wall near the balcony, positioned so she could watch both the door to their room and the outside via the balcony.

"I'm bored". Sasha sighed, stretched on her stomach, and head propped in her hand. "Why don't they try and speak to us again?"

Christina gave a lazy shrug.

"I dunno, I think us asking for razors yesterday must have alarmed them slightly" she quipped dryly.

It had reached the point where all three of them were in dire need of a bit of a tidy up yet they'd had to be supervised when in use of the razors in their bathing area. For three girls who were very private, having to appear in even slightly unclothed state in front of female elves who were complete strangers was hugely unnerving. The fact these elves seemed physically perfect didn't seem to help matters.

"I think you trying to scare them off with your dagger when we first got here didn't get us off to the best start" Sasha teased, earning a quirk of amusement out of Faye's eyebrow.

The bathing situation itself was something that continuously surprised them. With their being no running water, it was a lengthy process to not only heat the water but for it to be brought up to their room. Faye assumed there must be a central bathing area, what with their being far too many elves for it to be practical for them to have individual baths in their rooms, yet as "guests" it seemed they earned the right to a small amount of privacy.

The tubs were all large and made of a heavy thick wood. Oak possibly although none of them could really tell. It was a cause for hilarity in their first bathing experience when they tried to figure out just what the bottles they were handed were for. Just which was the scented oil, which was the body soap and which was that for use on their hair. Sasha, with her hair still braided had the best of it, yet Faye's hair, usually slightly curled seemed to have a strange reaction to the ointments and after its first wash had turned into a long mass of almost tight ringlets.

Sasha and Christina had done their best to untangle it, yet as their giggles became more and more persistent, Faye had stalked out on to the balcony. Her sisters had burst into full blown laughter, knowing she was not truly annoyed and indeed she even allowed a slight smile to pass over her face. Faye had settled on continuously wearing her hair up in some form of clip. It was a leather thong with a small stick of wood to push through to hold her hair in place. It did not prevent shorter curls from falling into her face but for now it would have to do.

Faye's headaches had continued although she was thankful to note they had not worsened. Nor had she had any waking dreams as those she'd experienced on their journey to Rivendell. Her dreams at night were another problem entirely. She was used to it, had indeed experienced years of it, of reliving the moments where she'd lost her family, one by one, yet now her mind seemed not content to just remind her of the pain of them being torn from her, but she was reliving the happier memories too leaving her to wake in the morning with such a sense of loss she felt as though she was having an ice pick driven in to her heart.

It had been years since she lost them yet the pain never lessened. If anything it was getting worse and with the combination of the pains in her head, Faye was truly starting to wonder just how much more she could really take. Glancing over at her sisters who had now started to doze she half opened her mouth to say something. But what could she possibly say to them? If she let them know she was in pain, they'd worry. And what could they possibly do to help her dreams? Nothing. So what was the point? Faye was alone in this, as always, and with a slight grimace she turned her back on the room, her shoulders tensed, and looked out on the stars but with unseeing eyes.

Her dream last night had been especially confusing and it was one she still couldn't make sense of. Eyes blurring slightly, she cast her mind back.

It had been a summers day and she and Aidan, they must have only been about four, where chasing each other around a glade, giggling madly as they darted in and out of the trees surrounding it.

'_Food is ready you two!' _a female voice calling to them and Faye turned and with a shriek of delight was lifted into the arms of her big sister. A similar sound from Aidan and Faye saw he'd received the same treatment from her big brother Aspen.

Walking back through the trees she saw her parents, already sat on a big blanket with a fine meal of food set out in front of them. Cold potatoes, meats, salad and fruits and Faye felt her eyes light up in delight. She wriggled slightly and her sister, Nicola, placed her on the floor where she ran with sturdy legs and shining eyes over to her father where she nestled down quickly in his lap.

'_Well little fairy'_ he teased, his green eyes that were lighter than Aspens sparkled at her, '_are you hungry?'_

It was an afternoon of laughter. Of Aspen and Nicola play fighting, and of Faye and Aidan being safely ensconced in their parents' embrace.

Faye had awoken in the deep night, once more drenched in sweat as her heart pounded. Had that been a dream, or a memory? It seemed so real that a memory it had to have been but there were two things she just couldn't fathom.

She remembered that her parents had taught her some Elvish, although not much, yet all of their conversation in her dream had been in that language. It would go some way as to explaining why she had understood so much over the last week, yet she couldn't understand why she had forgotten she had spoken it so much. And even more puzzling, why on earth had they all been speaking Elvish anyway?

Another, more concerning point, was where on earth had Sasha and Christina been? Faye had been very young when her parents had brought her two sisters home, indeed she did not think she had many memories where they had not been there. Yet all of her recollections since they had arrived in this world – not one of them had either Sasha or Christina in them and it scared her.

How could these be real memories, if she'd had no recollection of them before? A shiver went up her spine and she shifted uncomfortably as her eyes blinked back into awareness. Something strange was happening to her, was happening here, and all she knew was that she wanted nothing to do with it.

Brow furrowed, Faye's body turned towards the door before her ears even recognised the sound of light knocking. The deep brown of the wood panelling swung inwards slowly as a figure of an elf with deep chestnut hair emerged. It was Erestor.

His eyes took a sweeping inventory of the room, and noticing the slumbering forms of Sasha and Christina, he quirked his own eyebrow in amusement and raising them slightly he looked towards Faye. Her face was a calm, smooth marble once more, her mouth drawn in a perfectly neutral expression. Her eyes were as ever cold and distant and if he had not heard Lindir's account first-hand about how she had collapsed upon her arrival he'd have refused to believe she'd ever worn a different expression.

Gesturing with his hand, he beckoned for her to follow him. The seconds ticked by slowly, its complete silence before with a slight flicker of her eyes to her sisters, Faye inclined her head softly and stepped towards him.

Her dress of light green swirled softly around her, and trailed slightly on the ground, and if she had of been of a more expressive disposition, she'd have grimaced in annoyance. Erestor seemed to glide before her, his own robes of a russet providing him no trouble whatsoever. Faye took the time they walked along the winding corridors to take in the new sights.

Rivendell was intricate. Pathways crisscrossed each other, interlacing between the outdoors and inside. There were very few doorways, with large arched openings preferred. Nature itself seemed to intrude, or rather be invited, to link in with the framework and the whisper of the wind and the quiet rushing of distant rivers permeated the air. This was her first real glance at the rest of the Last Homely House and Faye was pleased by what she saw. Her face did not show it.

They passed very few elves. It seemed to Faye that they seemed to spend most of their times out doors. In a way, she was glad. She still found them so intimidating, their eyes so bottomless that they truly unnerved her. She was constantly on her guard, with only a few hours at night offering her a respite.

She inwardly sighed as Erestor slowed and opened up yet another heavy, intricately carved door. The door was stunning. It was an intricate design of leaves and vines and Faye wished she had longer to study it. Everything here seemed to be made with such care and consideration. Nothing looked rushed, but it was honed, sculpted and shaped to fit its surroundings. It was all made with feeling, with a meaning and it was something she found she really appreciated.

For so long, back home, everything had been mass produced. It was cheap, tacky and lacking in substance. It was lacking in thought. It was ugly. Here everything was so beautiful at times Faye found it difficult to look upon.

The room Erestor had led her into appeared to be a study of sorts. There was a large heavy set desk littered with scrolls and thick tomes. Candles guttered slightly in a light breeze and a small fire flickered cheerfully in the small fireplace. One side of the wall was lined with shelves and the musty smell of books and of learning filtered through the room. Faye breathed it in deeply, a happy sigh released inside. Her face remained blank.

Erestor gestured for her to sit in the chair opposite the desk, where he took his seat behind it to face her silently. The minutes stretched by slowly as he kept his gaze on her face, yet Faye refused to meet his gaze. Her eyes continued to trail around the room, taking in as much detail as she could, before a slight sigh from the elf drew her attention back to him.

His eyes, as with all the elves, frightened her. His were hazel, and she felt an irrational spark of relief that they were not the light blue of the elf she had dreamed up in the clearing. She felt alarm whenever she recalled them and despite the sheer depth of age in Erestor's eyes, she faced them head on, her own mismatched eyes of blue and green starting at him unflinchingly.

'_Faye, my lady, I know you can understand me. I know not why you refuse to acknowledge it, or to even speak, but it would aid us and you and your companions significantly if you would. We mean you no harm'._

A slow blinking of her eyes was all the acknowledgement Faye would give him. His eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance.

'_We need to know how you all came to be here. It would surprise you perhaps to know we have come across another like you? Ten years ago he appeared and to this day we do not know how. Perhaps you could offer us some insight? Do you not want to return home?'_

Faye mulled it over. Yes, she did want to return home. But if the person, she assumed it was Aidan, still had not figured out how to, what chance had they now? She'd questioned Sasha and Christina repeatedly about the moment leading up to them waking up in that field yet neither of them could remember. Neither could she. She felt the movement of disquiet flow through her as she contemplated how long Aidan had been here.

Ten years. She had thought him missing for ten years. She had thought he had left her after the funeral, that he'd abandoned her when she'd needed him most and she hated him for it. Had she really been wrong all of this time?

Erestor was studying her intently, trying to see if he could catch any slight change in her expression. If he was successful in his endeavour, he did not show it. It seemed Faye had more in common with these elves than she had anticipated.

A loud knocking shattered the silence and the elven lord regretfully pulled his eyes from hers.

'Enter' he called in a clear concise voice. And in Westron. So he did not want her to understand, Faye realised as she inwardly smiled ruefully to herself. There is no trust here, she had to remember that.

A very weather beaten figure entered the room, his battered, stained and worn clothing still dripping slightly on the floor. His hands were filthy, his hair wild and tangled with a beard in dire need of a trim. His eyes were a piercing grey and as they swept past Erestor with a nod of acknowledgement they widened in shock when they met hers as the man let out a cry of surprise. Faye could not help her own eyes widening slightly in response. She had seen those eyes before. She had seen them in Bree.

Erestor questioned the man in question quickly, gesturing towards Faye with a fierce frown on his face. If the newcomer felt any surprise that they were not conducting the conversation in Elvish he did not show it but he responded in kind. Faye sat there, as still as stone, yet her eyes flickered between the two. If that man was in Bree, and now he was here and looking so travel worn...a memory stirred. A memory from a tale she had read so long ago. Surely it _couldn't_ be him?

Erestor cleared his throat slightly to gain her full attention.

'_My lady, Faye, I am honoured to introduce you to Lord Aragorn here, who has expressed a desire to make your acquaintance. He says he saw you in Bree, although he does not think you saw him'._

'_I saw him'. _

Faye froze. Surely, she had not uttered those words? Glancing at Erestor's wide eyes she realised that yes, she must have. She cursed inwardly. What on earth had made her do that? She'd been so careful, so controlled, so utterly determined not to say anything, and yet she'd spoken without realising. She was slipping, she knew it, and she hated herself for it.

Resolving once more to give nothing away, she looked determinedly into the flames. No matter what questions they asked her she refused point blank to even acknowledge their presence. She was being unspeakably rude she knew, but she did not want to give too much away. Until she knew for sure that Aidan was truly here or not, then she did not want to say anything that could be used against them. She had to think of her sisters.

Aragorn did not stay for much longer. She had to fight the urge to look upon him once more, after all it was _Aragorn_. He was one of the heroes of the tale. Christina's eyes would all but pop out of her head when Faye told her they really were here, and it really was in the same timescale as the last battle over the Ring of Power.

The Ring of Power. Now that she thought about it she felt a cold dread seep through her. That was a thing of pure evil, of untold power and corruption that drew enemies to it as a moth cannot help but be drawn to a flame. What if it brought _him_ here? What if he had managed to cross over with them? The fear stabbed at her yet she smothered it down with an iron will.

Erestor finished scribbling a message down on one of the numerous pieces of parchment that littered his desk before he stood and gestured that Faye go with him. He was quite clearly displeased with her. It was with icy silence that he led her back to her room and she thought he was so peeved that he would leave without saying anything further.

'_Faye, I do not understand why you refuse to cooperate with us but know this you are only doing yourself and your companions more harm. We will continue our discussion tomorrow, and the next day and the next until you speak to us. We can help you Faye, but only if you ask'. _

He finished his speech gently, and there was a hint of understanding in his gaze as he inclined his head to her and murmured his farewell. Faye nodded robotically at him before entering her room. Full night had fallen now and her sisters were asleep, although this time they were at least changed for sleep and laying on their beds properly.

Faye knew they would interrogate her in the morning and she wondered just how much to share with them, and just what she should say. She knew one thing though and that was tomorrow she would not stay confined to her room. With the Ring here she had to act now to put steps in place to protect Sasha and Christina, and she knew just what she had to do to start that. She gulped down the wave of panic that threatened to overwhelm her when she considered it. She had to find Aidan, she had to know if she was here, yet the thought of seeing him again filled her with a slight terror that the prospect of finding a long lost family member should never do.

* * *

_I was awful. I was rude. I was proud. I thought I was being clever but I was being oh so very stupid. And stubborn. Yet I was brave with it. For all my flaws, cowardice has never been one of them. I went in search of Aidan and in the process I forced myself back on to the path to my doom. To our doom. Forget the Ring. What I was starting, the road I forced myself on, it was to me even more evil then that. _


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything other than my original characters and part of the plot. Everything else it Tolkien's.

**A/N:**Here's another chapter for you, I hope you like it, I would love to know what you all think of it. Is it too slow moving? Too confusing? Do you have any suggestions on how I can improve? Any comments will be very much appreciated.

**Agent007Tomato** – Thank you so much for the review. I'm glad that it's got you interested! Hope you like this chapter.

**Floweringbirdiesb – **I'm so happy that you like this story! Cheers for the review, it really made me smile, hope this update was soon enough for you.

**Horseyyay** – thanks for the review! And wow thanks for saying it's amazing! If you were worried before I hope this chapter doesn't make you even more so – although I've a feeling it might... thank you so much for reading.

To all my new followers: welcome and thanks very much for giving this story a follow. It's a big work in progress and I battle with it a lot, but I hope I'm on the right track. Anyway here's the next chapter so enjoy everyone.

Chapter 8

"So let me get this straight", Sasha mumbled slightly around the grapes she was continuously popping into her mouth, "you actually, full on, met Aragorn last night? Like for real?!"

The early morning sun was streaming in through the balcony opening and there was a fresh smell in the air after an earlier rain shower. The breeze that blew in was slightly chill yet still snuggled up in their bedding, none of the sisters seemed to mind. They were just finishing off grazing on the fruit platter that had been left to serve as their breakfast and Faye had quickly recapped her late evening's encounter. She nodded simply in Sasha's direction.

"It must be late October then..." Christina half murmured to herself before coming to and speaking more clearly. "If he's arrived here, then it's late in the month, possibly the twentieth of October. I'll know for sure when Boromir arrives".

The matter of fact way she was discussing it seemed to take both Faye and Sasha aback, with the latter in particular still struggling to fully accept that this was all real.

"Wow, wow, wow slow down there Chrissie, how in the hell do you know that?" a flick of her long braids and a furrow of her brows finished off Sasha's questioning.

"Well, it's in the books isn't it? Or at least it's in the appendix. I'm pretty sure I've got it right, although it's been about a year since I've read them..." she trailed off upon seeing Sasha shoot Faye an expression crossed between amusement and exasperation.

"Only you could be such a geek" she smiled fondly. "I still don't get how you remember it all though, I mean I can hardly remember the big things! And the ones I do I think might actually be more of the film..." It was Sasha this time who trailed off and all three of the young women frowned.

They had been trying to puzzle out the gist of the 'story' for a while, and although they were speaking it out loud it still held such a sense of the surreal, although Faye couldn't help but think perhaps that was the best way to look at it. The horrors and dangerous that Middle Earth were soon to supposedly face were so much bigger than anything else they had come across. And if it was true, then they held very dangerous information in their hands. They could not afford to give anything away, or let the wrong information slip. She told her sisters as such.

A grim atmosphere permeated the room and Christina shivered despite the warmth of her blankets. The reality that one wrong move could change a sequence in events was a terrifying one, and something she knew her sisters shared.

"If this is all true, we have so much power through knowledge here. I think even if we do ever learn to communicate with them properly, I'm going to be too scared to even speak to anyone who gets a mention in the books!".

Faye agreed wholeheartedly, although frowned slightly as her red headed sister continued.

"But I mean, how amazing would it be though to see and speak to them. I mean it's Aragorn for crying out loud! And there's Legolas, the _hobbits!_ Oh and of course, Gandalf! Oh I just can't believe they're all real!"

Christina's excitement was clearly catching as she and Sasha shared grins but Faye was outwardly frowning this time. Christina had been far more on the right track with her first thoughts of fear, and although hating to put a dampener on their day, Faye had to make sure to get that point across.

"We can't. We simply can't interact with them. What if we changed something, just one small thing that could affect the outcome? We know how this story ends, and it's a good ending. We cannot risk changing that, not just so we gain something small ourselves. We just can't'.

It was a long speech from Faye and a ringing silence followed. There was a slight air of resentment coming from her sisters although with a heavy sigh Christina gave her a slightly reproachful look.

"I know that Faye, but isn't it nice sometimes just to imagine?"

Faye, who had spent years clamping down on ever imagining anything, having to expend all of her energy on the here and now for her self-preservation if nothing else, could not answer.

As the morning wore on, Sasha and Christina both decided to amuse themselves by trying to re-design their clothing, wrapping their bed sheets around them in numerous different styles. It was as they were thus clothed in almost toga like outfits that Faye decided to make her move. Getting up quickly form her bed she was out the door almost before they could protest. She knew she'd be in for an earful later on in the day but she needed to take the time to explore at her own pace and without the distraction of her noisier siblings.

She decided to walk in the opposite direction than Erestor had taken her, and she found herself in a part of the building that seemed utterly deserted. The walls were decorated with numerous paintings and the intricate statues seemed to appear out of the shadows. A few lamps and candles remained lit, proving that some inhabitants at least ventured this way yet it seemed to Faye to be clearly a place for peace and quiet.

Moving close to the walls, her eyes continuously swept her surroundings, but no sound of a footfall or any sign of life other than that of the distant sound of nature outside reached her ears. Reaching a window she paused to gaze at the view and found her breath stolen away. It seemed as though she could look down the entire length of the valley. A blanket of trees spread out before her, and trails of wispy smoke seemed to hover over it in ribbons, although Faye new it to be the vapours rising from the multitudes of little rivers and streams as the day was warming up. The sky was overcast but Faye did not feel as though it were gloomy, and the dampness in the air didn't seem to affect her even though she was only garbed in a dress. She hadn't thought to search her room for a cloak.

A quiet chiming caught her attention and she rolled her shoulders as she shifted, and she noted by their stiffness she must have stood there for a lot longer than she had intended. Adjusting her long skirts around her she continued on with her exploration when she reached a doorway to the outdoors. Only hesitating slightly she reached out her pale hand and twisted the iron handle to release the latch as she stepped out into the world.

Rivendell truly was beautiful up close. She hadn't had the sense to take all of it in on her one nightly run, and the view from her rooms, though stunning did not do the last homely house justice. There was such a deep sense of nature, of growth and of _life_ in Rivendell that she could scarce take it all in. As she walked along an almost hidden track, she couldn't help but feel her heart lighten.

She tried to stick to cover, to stick to the sheltered spots but her dress was too much of an inconvenience and she simply wasn't experienced enough at travelling in the countryside for it to truly work. Give Faye a city, stone walls and streets and she could disappear like a shadow. Out in nature she struggled, her dark hair and pale skin seeming to stand out like a beacon. Yet she knew, she even remembered a time, when she had been far more comfortable in the countryside then she ever had been with city life.

A heavy sigh actually managed to escape her as she rested momentarily at the base of a strong thick ash tree, the bark a comforting feel under her fingertips. A wave of weariness, not of the body but of her mind and even her heart swept over her. So much she'd had to change, to alter who she was simply in order for her and what little of her family she had left to survive. She was so different now that some mornings when she gazed into the mirror she didn't recognise herself. Her eyes were dead to all those looking and yet they hid a torrent of such violent emotion Faye began to wonder just how catastrophic it would be if those emotions ever broke loose.

Yet wasn't that what she'd been trying to do for years? To cut herself off so much that _he_ could never hurt her? It had been ten long and hard years since the last catastrophe _he'd _brought down upon her. Indeed she felt that at times she'd even come close to removing him from her life completely. Sometimes she wondered though if _he_ wasn't just leading her on some sadistic merry dance, for whenever she seemed close to ending _him, _she was hurled head long into another impossible situation. Much indeed like this one...

Shaking her head slowly she forced her shoulders to relax as she moved as quietly as she could along the wooded pathway. The chirruping and chirping of nature, the sigh of the wind, the rushing of water was all around her. There was no danger here. It was a mantra she had to keep repeating herself, after years of living on the edge and it was a hard habit to break but she felt she managed to move somewhat more smoothly as the rounded the bend.

In front of her stood a large court yard, the floor packed with neat looking slabs and cobbles. It was clearly a meeting area for numerous paths, some a small trail like she had been walking on but others were a lot wider and were clearly well used. There were a few elves dotted about the place, yet they all moved with a purpose and they clearly all had their own chores to be getting on with. Ducking under a low branch of an oak tree and trying to blend her blue and grey dress in as much as the shadows would allow, Faye took a moment to observe them.

They truly were beautiful. Whether they were dark or fair of hair, in flowing dresses, robes or simply tunics they moved effortlessly. And they were soundless. A wry snort crossed her mind as Faye thought about how much she'd been straining her ears for the sound of footsteps. With elves about it was rather a futile task they were so light of foot. They were a happy people though, with pleasantries and laughter abounding between all of them, although there were some that hurried about their business, heads down with grim faces that indicated that not all was well.

A loud clumping sound reached Faye's ears and her blue and green eyes quickly found the source of the noise and unobserved as she thought she was, they openly widened in shock and amazement. There, not one hundred metres away from her, were a group of dwarves! Heavy boots, thick clothing and beards that were almost indescribable although dark reds and browns seemed to be the most prominent colour. Real life Middle Earth dwarves were there, right in front of her. Her eyes drunk them in greedily. They seemed to vary in age, although it was impossible for her to adequately guess at what their true ages were. The glint of armour caught her attention also, and they moved close in a pack, casting suspicious glances around at the elves who seemed almost offensively graceful in comparison. From what little she could hear their voices were harsh and guttural, yet there was a rhythmical quality to it that didn't make it unpleasant to her ears.

They were quickly moving out of her sight and Faye, not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to study them further and almost helpless to her own inquisitiveness, opted to forsake her usual stealth and opted for the tactic of boldness. To step out and walk across the courtyard as though she belonged, she prayed no passing elf would notice that she shouldn't really be there, or at the very least she shouldn't be there unattended. She doubted highly that Erestor would be pleased to discover she had gone wondering of her own accord.

Remarkably her tactic worked. As she stepped across the cobbles, taking pains to keep her back straight and her steps as light as possible, Faye moved speedily across the open space, quickly closing in on the group of dwarves. Her heavy skirts still swished annoyingly around her legs, throwing her balance slightly, yet she kept her head held high and her gaze fixed, so that to anyone passing by it looked like she had a clear purpose. As she got nearer the dwarves she could see them approach a building with heavy wooden doors, and she caught a glimpse of a dark interior with a glow omitting from one corner. As the dwarves' speech became louder and more expressive, they were clearly excited to be going there, Faye wondered if it was perhaps not the blacksmith's that they were entering.

Pausing slightly, having no real interest in going to see metal work, Faye made sure her eyes swept the area quickly and with hardly faltering her step she veered slightly to the left and entered through a different wooden gateway that stood wide open. It was not too far from the smithy that she would not be able to see the dwarves leaving if she chose to follow them again, and the slightly darker interior would provide her with better cover than her spot at the trees had afforded her.

As she stepped through the gateway she found herself in a large building with a main alleyway cutting its path straight through the middle. Either side was lined with wooden gates and they were clearly marked off into separate stalls. The rich heavy smell in the air, and stray strands of straw coating the floor underneath her feet provided the rest of the clues, and a snort and a soft whinny confirmed it. She'd found the stables.

Peering down into the building, she saw the alley way branched off to the left, meaning the building had to be in an L shape, else it led out she assumed to some sort of training paddock. Casting a slightly regretful look at the door way to the black smith's, Faye stepped further into the stables. Only a handful of the stalls actually housed a horse. They were magnificent creatures, and Faye not having seen a horse since she was very young, was taken aback by how tall they were, her head hardly reached the tops of their flanks and she was not what she considered short. Their coats glistened in the dim lamp light of the stables, where the high windows didn't allow quite enough light in, although the beams of sun that were shining down caused the dust motes to swirl and dance around her.

The further she walked in, the more noises her ears were picking up and it soon became apparent that there was someone else, possibly more than one person in the stables with her, just around the corner. Slowing her steps slightly and praying one of the horses didn't become so inquisitive at her presence that they would snort and give her away, she edged up to the corner. There were three voices, all male and by their rough quality, human. One of the voices raised slightly in an exclamation, clearly laughing at something and at the sound of it Faye froze utterly, ice slamming through her heart.

_Green eyes, green eyes, green eyes..._

It had sounded just like her Green Eyes, oh so very much like him that her vision blurred slightly and she had to blink back furious tears. Anger coursed through her at her own reaction, furious with herself that she had not stopped them. Green eyes is dead, she thought it ruthlessly, hammering the point home so that seconds later her vision had cleared. As she mentally squashed down her feelings she also stamped down on the fear that was bubbling inside her. She knew exactly why that voice sounded like her Green Eyes, and she knew even without the shooting pains that were starting to fire through her head just exactly who was behind the corner. Aidan.

Swaying slightly, she had to reach out a hand to grasp a wooden post for support as three figures rounded the corner. The middle figure stumbled slightly, shouting out in pain as he grabbed at his forehead, his two companions supporting him in alarm. He spared them no attention though as his eyes clashed with Faye's in a torrent of emotion. She had no time to drink him in, no time at all to see how much he had changed over the last ten years. Two eyes, one deep blue and the other a dark emerald, captured her and trapped her and would not let her go. Two eyes that were lit up and glinted with emotion fought with two eyes that were dull and dead.

Aidan's eyes won.

A strangled gasping sound was bludgeoning at Faye's ears as her mind fought to accept the impossible sight of Aidan, her cousin and her twin standing right before her after being missing from her life for so long. It took her a moment to realise that the sound was coming from her. Aidan reached a trembling hand towards her, and she heard another noise that could have been words but she could take in nothing but his eyes. His hand reached her then and with pleading eyes Aidan touched her arm and Faye knew no more.

* * *

_I thought then that I had never known a pain like it. The searing and slicing into my mind was a pain like nothing else I had ever experienced, not even the heartbreak of losing my family. That was a different type of pain entirely and one I had gotten so used to I had learnt to carry it around with me. This other pain though, this tearing and destroying...I had forgotten that I'd felt it before. I didn't know I would feel it again and worse in the future. And it was all because of him. Aidan. My greatest strength and my biggest weakness. Always. _


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing apart from my original characters and part of the plot. Everything else is Tolkien's.

**A/N:** Another chapter! I hope this explains more for everyone. Dialogue isn't always my best skill so please let me know what you think. I've tried to make it so that the story explains itself instead of just plain paragraphs acting as fillers, if you follow me. I hope that's worked. Still a lot more to explain I know but that will work itself out in time. Any comments I really would appreciate it.

**Horseyyay** – thanks for the review! And no naughty step for me I'm afraid, if I sit on that, there'd be no more updates! Hope you like this chapter.

**FourHorses** – thank you for reviewing. I know what you mean that it is a bit confusing but like I say in my A/N, I've been trying to find a way to explain things without it being just lumped into one explanatory paragraph, I wanted the story telling to provide the readers with the info if that makes sense. I hope I've managed it a bit in this chapter anyway!

**Floweringbirdies** – cheers for the review, glad you liked the chapter. And I'm gladder that you like the chapter endings! I really liked the idea as though my character was telling her story as though it's already ended. Just something different I wanted to try so happy to hear that it seems like it's working anyway!

And to my new followers, thank you and welcome. Enjoy!

Chapter 9

Faye awoke to a cacophony of noise. From the slightly musty smell assaulting her senses she gathered she was still in the stables, yet the pain in her head was so much she couldn't stand to open her eyes. Something appeared wrong with her ears also as sound around her seemed to come in and out of focus, like a badly tuned radio muted one second and blasting out the next. She also struggled to decipher words where sometimes it seemed to be ones she knew but at other times in a language utterly foreign to her. With slightly trembling fingers she lightly touched the ground beneath her hand, trying to get a sense of something real, desperate in an attempt to find something solid to focus on.

A hand on her shoulder made her twitch involuntarily as she froze slightly and she hear a murmuring near her ear, but she couldn't for the life of her make out words. Someone appeared to be shouting and as the hand on her shoulder moved her so she was now lying on her back her ears suddenly started to work and the noise hit her like a wave causing her to release an involuntary whimper.

"_I am warning you Feldan let me go, let me get to her!"_

Ah, Aidan. His voice still so similar to her Green Eyes sent yet another stab of pain shot through her but this time she was almost numb to it, it was as though a part of her wasn't even there. He sounded angry though and that caused Faye to frown. Aidan was almost never angry; she didn't like it when he was. Her brow furrowed.

She heard Feldan respond, although when he had arrived she couldn't guess but she was distracted by a voice close to her ear.

"_My lady, can you hear me? You hit your head hard when you fell. Are you able to open your eyes?"_

Faye wanted to mutter out a disconsolate no. She wanted to roll over and hide her head and cover her ears until all she could hear was nothingness. Didn't they understand how much her head hurt? The voice was insistent though and a part of her recognised it. There was a quiet authority to it that compelled her to listen and even fighting against it, she felt her eyes open a fraction. Even the faint light in the stables caused her to hiss in pain but she stilled when she saw who was above her.

Grey eyes stared into hers intently. Eyes she recognised. Aragorn's. Faye kept her eyes blank as always, even muting the pain she was feeling as she gazed back. He seemed to see something that displeased him as his brow furrowed and his mouth set itself in a grim line.

"_You've cut your head my lady, you must come with us so that it can be tended to. Can you stand?"_

Her own brow furrowing again, Faye tested herself to see if she could move and to her relief found that she could. Rolling gingerly to her side, with slightly shaking hands she pushed herself up in to a sitting position. Hating to show her weakness but unable to do anything else, she latched on to the hand Aragorn held out to her and he helped pull her up slowly. Despite his care she still swayed as she finally stood and his hand clamped on her arm to steady her.

Blinking her eyes slowly the stables finally came back into focus and she gazed at the scene ahead of her. Three rangers, one of which was Feldan were all busy still restraining Aidan. She guessed she could not have been unconscious for very long.

"_Faye? Faye! Please are you well? You – You're bleeding, I –"_ he broke off then, overcome in his worry to finish as his eyes stared at her desperately. "_Are you even real?"_

His voice trembled so much with emotion it came out as a choked whisper and Faye took the chance to drink him in. Was he even real? He looked so different from how she remembered. Gone was the childlike softness to his face. He was a grown man now, strong of jaw with a determined mouth. His hair a dark raven just like hers was a mass of short curls grown longer then he'd ever had it before. His nose was the masculine version of hers. And his eyes were her perfect match. He was so much taller too but then, she supposed wryly, ten years on from when you were twelve would do that to you. He must have been over six foot now, taller than her when he never had been before. Faye wasn't sure she liked that.

"_She is real, Aidan"_ Aragorn's reassuring voice just to her right made her jump slightly, his hand still warm and fixed upon her arm in support in a way that would usually bother her, yet with him it did not. Despite the pains in her head she felt herself calm slightly. How was it possible for him to make that happen? Perhaps it was the quiet authority in his voice that seemed to lift the burden of responsibility somewhat from others. It certainly seemed to have a positive effect on Aidan.

Aidan's eyes left hers briefly, giving her a welcome break from the barrage of emotions, and she saw clearly the look on his face as he glanced at the ranger. Respect, admiration, gratitude and the sheer look of relief. Aidan believed Aragorn without question. His eyes then swung back on to her filled with so much happiness that Faye could hardly stand it. This time when he started to move forward, Feldan and the other rangers didn't stop him.

He seemed to hesitate just as he reached her, as though despite Aragorn's words he still couldn't truly believe that she was there. Faye knew that feeling entirely; she was still struggling to process the sight of him in front of her.

"_Faye"_ It was a murmur this time, a happy one and then his arms were around her, crushing her too him. Faye stood rigid at the contact and her eyes closed in pain that was not caused by any physical ailment. Aidan was there all around her, holding her, loving her and gods how she had _missed_ him. All of him. Her happy Aidan, her buffer to all things bad, her companion, her other half. _My twin_. She thought it; she knew it to be true even if they had never been raised that way. _But why weren't we? _ She had so many questions, but she had forgotten how to ask them.

It was so tempting for her to give in, to hold him back, to smile at their reunion yet she could not. He had left her, he had abandoned her after Aspen had been killed. She had been forced to look after Sasha and Christina all alone. And she knew full well the price of being close to those she loved. _He_ would find them, _he _would kill them as he had done to everyone else she held dear. It took long moments for Aidan to realise she was not returning his embrace and he pulled back with pure confusion in his gaze.

"Faye?" the hurt in his voice shattered a part of her heart. Why did she always have to hurt people to protect them, to protect herself? Was this pain really worth it? The memory of Green Eyes flashed across her mind and she knew without a doubt the answer was yes. Steeling herself she gazed through him, ignoring him and summoning her courage she turned her back on him. She pretended not to hear his pained intake of breath as her heart cracked. Aragorn was frowning at her but she was past caring. His grip tightened on her arm, as though worried that she'd bolt. He needn't have worried. Faye didn't feel that she could run anywhere. There was a clamouring of noise in her head, as though a voice was trying to break through and it was all she could do to keep her eyes focused on the doorway to leave the stable in front of her.

She heard Aragorn draw a breath as though to say something yet all he released was a heavy sigh and without a word he tugged gently on her arm to lead her from the stables. She heard Feldan whisper urgently to Aidan as they started to follow behind but she couldn't understand him. Feldan then still didn't trust her enough to speak Elvish again in her presence. She would remember that.

Faye could not recall much of her walk to the healing rooms of the last homely house. Aragorn was a constant presence at her side, distracting her from the roiling bundle of emotion following behind her that was Aidan. Had he truly become her opposite now? She full of frozen numbness, he burning so brightly? She did not think she could stand it. Her ice was there for a reason, but she knew it was brittle. If the right weak points were found, Faye knew she would shatter.

With a heavy blink she realised they were at a doorway that led through to a light airy room, with many beds inside. The healing section clearly, although it was empty. Faye did not suppose that being in an elven realm they were occupied all too frequently. There was no sign of Frodo. With a quiet murmur behind him, Aragorn led her into the room and gently sat her on the bed. Catching her gaze once more his grey eyes searched her face for a long moment.

"_Will you not even speak to him? He has missed you for so long"_ there was a reproach in his voice and a flare of resentment sparked inside of her and she wondered if he saw it in her eyes as he drew back from her slightly. Did he not think she had missed Aidan? She had stayed with Sasha and Christina, she had struggled along simply in order to survive. Aidan by all accounts had been here and cared for. Bitterness rose up inside her and words broke free before she could stop them.

"_He left me"_.

Aragorn's eyes darkened with a feeling she could not place but before he could respond Aidan stormed into the room, and taking one look at her still blank face he stalked over to a chair and sat in it heavily, and stared at her. A brooding Aidan. This was not an Aidan she was familiar with. It appeared this grown up Aidan was far more volatile than he had been as a child, and Faye wondered just how else he had changed.

An elf with chestnut hair appeared then, on such silent feet Faye had not sensed his approach at all. She struggled to contain her flinch at his sudden appearance. She sat there, as still as rock as he cleaned the cut to the side of her head, not feeling the sting as he cleansed it, not feeling anything at all until she heard raised female voices that she recognised in the corridor outside. Her sisters were coming. That at least explained where Feldan had disappeared to; he must have been sent to retrieve them. They burst into the room, bundles of energy and noise. It was a distraction Faye welcomed, anything to break the gaze of Aidan's eyes from her.

"Why on earth are you leading us here, where is Faye? She left our rooms hours ago in a rush she – Faye!" Sasha's alarmed voice reached her first before the figure of her dark sister rushed into her vision. "You've been bleeding! Are you okay?" Sasha's deep brown eyes, so clear and open searched hers desperately for a sign of reassurance. Faye hoped the squeezing of her hand would suffice.

"Was it your head again? Did it hurt again? You never did say if it was fully better" Christina now, slightly calmer, yet she was chewing her lip in worry and tugging nervously at her dark red hair.

"I'm fine. Just tired". Faye hardly recognised her own voice and she was not surprised by the look of worry her sisters shot each other as they moved to sit either side of her. They were so concerned and focused on her they had not even noticed the figures of either Aragorn or Aidan in the room.

"Sasha? Ch-Christina?!" a strangled exclamation interrupted their exchange, and Sasha and Christina's shrieks of surprise and amazement had Faye wincing in pain.

"Aidan?!" Christina sounded disbelieving, mouth agape as her eyes refused to take in what they were seeing. Sasha, who had been so reluctant about believing where they were, did not hesitate to believe her own eyes. She literally flung herself at him in a fierce embrace.

"You're here! Faye you were right, he is here, he's here! Oh Aidan! What happened to you? Why did you leave us?" Braids flying as she near spun around in excitement, Sasha gripped on to Aidan's hand as she took a step back to truly drink him in with her eyes. Christina approached him more cautiously yet when she was close enough she burrowed herself into his arms and heaved a happy sigh, one that he returned albeit with a stunned expression on his face.

"We've missed you" Christina said simply, breaking away slowly to stand closer to Faye.

"I can't believe - I" Aidan broke off uncomfortably and cleared his throat before starting again. "I can't believe that you're all really here". His eyes flickered over the three sisters his eyes darkening in pain when they reached Faye's, and he clutched Sasha's hand tighter. "And I didn't leave you, I would never have done that. _He_ took me". Aidan's voice was clear, fierce and unfaltering. He was telling the truth. Sasha and Christina's gasps of horror echoed around in Faye's head until it was more than she could stand.

Moving abruptly she lay down on the bed, eyes closed wanting nothing more than to block everything out. She did not see Aragorn's worried glance her way before he murmured something softly and left the room with the healer. She did not see Aidan's eyes flash in pain as she blocked him out once again. She did not see the concern on her sisters faces as they hovered over her anxiously. Long moments passed in silence before Sasha broke it.

"I think she's sleeping" she breathed it quietly into the room.

"Do you think she's supposed to? I mean, isn't it dangerous to sleep after a head injury?" Christina's voice was anxious.

"I don't know, but I mean, the healer would not have left her if it wasn't, right?" Sasha's voice was a question and Faye itched to answer it but knew she could not.

"I – I'm sure she is fine". Aidan sounded broken.

"Aidan", Christina started gently, "What did you mean when you said _he_ took you?"

Don't listen, don't listen, don't listen. Faye repeated it over and over in her head but she could not drown out their voices.

"Exactly what I said Chrissie. _He_ took me. Not long after Aspen's funeral, after Faye and I had fought. I'd gone...home. It was at night when _he_ came. I tried to fight him but I couldn't. _He_ said I was alone, that I did not belong there, that there was a place where I needed to be. I – I struggled desperately, I didn't want to leave Faye, to leave any of you but there wasn't anything I could do". Aidan released a ragged sigh. "_He's_ not...normal. Not human" his voice was stronger this time and he carried on speaking quickly before either Sasha or Christina could interrupt.

"_He_ has powers that aren't or well shouldn't be real. When I tried to move I couldn't, I was frozen in place. When I wanted to call out for help, _he_ stopped me, and _he_ put thoughts in my head, made me see things that I could not turn away from. It went dark at the end. _He _tore me from you, from...Faye and it hurt me. The elves told me I had been in the healing ward here for over a week before I showed even the slightest sign of waking".

After a few long moments, Sasha spoke, her voice hushed as though not wanting to break the spell Aidan's voice seemed to have cast. All those years of not knowing, only to discover that he had been stolen from them.

"We looked for you, you know. We searched for weeks Chrissie and I"

"Not Faye?" Aidan's voice was sharp.

"Faye was...she wasn't well Aidan" it was Christina's softer voice this time. "She was like you I guess. She was unconscious. She was in hospital for over two weeks, the doctors didn't know what was wrong with her, we just couldn't wake her. They put it down to shock in the end. But that meant we couldn't look for you properly. With Aspen dead we didn't have a guardian. It was all we could do to stay out of social services, if they had gotten hold of us, there's no way we could have stayed together".

"We _did_ look though Aidan, we've always been looking – even Faye whether she would like to admit it or not" Sasha's voice was passionate, reassuring but Faye could not sense whether Aidan believed her or not.

"What's happened to her?" his voice sounded frozen. Her sisters answered in confusion but Faye knew exactly what she meant. She always did.

"You have to know what I mean! Why is she so...so...empty? so cold? There was nothing there when I looked at her Sash, nothing at all, it was like she didn't even know me".

Faye inwardly grimaced. She really was a better actress then even she had thought if she had fooled even him. Then again ten years was a long time, long enough to change anyone from all signs of recognition.

"Faye's been like that for years Aidan" Christina tried to explain gently but Aidan cut her off.

"No. Not Faye, _never_ Faye. Faye is happy, Faye is sunshine, Faye is _never_ sad. That's just not who she is". He was utterly uncompromising in his belief. He sounded like a child.

"That's not who she _was_ Aidan, but war...war changes all of us" Sasha's voice was muted.

"War? What do you mean war?"

"Don't you remember, Aidan?" Christina was pleading with him now. "War had just broken out again, just as we turned twelve. The last ten years have been, well...they've been a struggle. We've all three of us had to do things we'd never dreamed of to survive".

"What do you mean 'do things'?" Aidan's voice was rising in concern.

"Whatever it took" Sasha bit out sharply, before sighing in apology. "We've had a hard life Aidan, and we've adapted to it. Faye, well she...she's had to look after us as much as I hate to say it. She's taken care of us, she couldn't be the happy carefree girl anymore. Aidan...she grew up".

"That is NOT growing up!"

Faye had to consciously stop herself from jumping at the change in Aidan's tone. He had shouted that response.

"Believe me I've seen things that I wish I hadn't, that have made me grow up, but I haven't become like _that_" he almost spat out the words. "She is cold, she is unfeeling, she's broken!"

Aidan sounded distraught yet all his words had done was to anger her sisters.

"How dare you say that! She is _not_ broken Aidan she's just had to change. You just need to get to know her again. Once you get clued in on all her little signs, she's just as easy to understand as before. There isn't _anyone_ who is as caring as Faye. No one could look after us better". Christina's voice was fierce and Faye felt a surge of affection for her red headed sister. At least these two still knew her, still believed in her, she still had them.

"I know this must be hard Aidan, and I know you and Faye have been close, especially for cousins but-"

"_Cousins?!_" Aidan scornfully interrupted Sasha's attempt at an explanation. "Do you honestly believe that we're cousins? Look at us Sasha! Think of what we were like growing up – she's my _twin_".

"Twin? But then why – why didn't you live with us? Why didn't mum and dad –"

"want me?" Aidan interrupted her again, his voice filled with bitterness. "Good question Sasha. Wish to hell I knew the answer. Then again clearly it's a family thing to reject me". He sounded so utterly hurt Faye had to resist covering her ears with her hands. She was saved from hearing them talk more however as others entered the room.

Soft hands on her forehead again and her eyes snapped open. It was the blonde elf this time, who she had met the first day she had awoken, the same day she had met Erestor. He gazed at her intently for a moment before nodding silently to himself.

"_She simply needs to rest, in peace and in quiet. Please leave her now, the evening is drawing in as it is, and she will be more able to see visitors tomorrow". _

Faye could see that Sasha and Christina were clearly bewildered not being able to understand but Aidan grunted in annoyance. He nodded his head curtly though, and gestured for her sisters to follow him through the door. He cast one last searching, hopeful look her way but as her face remained blank his own hardened, and with a heavy sigh he left the room. Sasha and Christina flitted worriedly at her side for a few moments before they both gave her soft hugs of departure. She watched them leave, and Aragorn and the healer swiftly followed, and she was alone. The silence was deafening. As much as she had tried to block out their words before, she found now that she would have given anything to have them back as a distraction. Now she had nothing but her thoughts, and Aidan's words echoing around her head.

He hadn't left her after all. He had been taken from her, yet another piece of her heart torn from her by that monster that seemed to never stop hunting her. But why her? What could she have possibly done that was so bad that so much pain was to be inflicted upon her? And Aidan was right; they were twins, so why had their parents separated them like they had? Taunting them with brief visits, just those few short weeks of the year where they could be together, only to then rip them apart?

Questions swirled around and around forever unanswered, and her head still throbbing she slipped into uneasy dreams which always ended the same, night after night. Green Eyes always died.

* * *

_There was a warning then, wasn't there, as to how easy it was for Aragorn to get a hold on people. I even spoke to him, when I would speak to no other from this world. I had not shielded myself enough, I still let others in. The signs were there and I ignored them. I focused too much on the questions when the answers were right there all along if only I could have seen them. If only I'd had the patience to try. Our parents had kept us apart - not to hurt us but to save us. Why couldn't I have seen that then? _


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing other than the original characters and part of the plot. Absolutely everything else is Tolkien's.

**A/N:** another update for you! And by far my longest chapter. Are things perhaps just slightly clearer for you now? I hope so. As ever I would love to know what you all think, your comments are beyond appreciated, and always spur me on. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Horseyyay** – thank you so much for your review! And I know, it's horrible for Aidan and Faye but I regret to say it's going to get a whole lot more angst ridden in parts! And Sauron? …Not quite, have a read, I may even answer you….not a bad guess though!

**Floweringbirdies** – as ever, thank you for the review. May I take it the laughter is a good sign?! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 10

The days that followed transpired to be some of the most difficult Faye had ever dealt with. If she wasn't being forced to put up with Aidan's presence in person, then she had Sasha and Christina talking about him non-stop. It seemed as though there was no escaping him, and despite her rebuffs, her continuous ignoring of him he tried again and again to talk to her, to include her, to carry on as though they had not spent the last ten years apart. It made Faye's blood boil. Why couldn't he just see that she was doing this for his own good?

She toyed with the idea of taking him to one side, of explaining all she had learnt about the monster that had done his best to destroy their lives and succeeded. But she could not risk getting close to Aidan again, if she did she knew it would mean his death. And Aidan would be just the type to see it as a challenge, to want to fight, to want to win through. Aspen had been the same – and Aspen had died.

Whenever she felt herself weakening, felt a slight crumble in her resolve, Green Eyes would flash across her mind and she would steel her spine once more and continue on her lonely path. She thought perhaps even Sasha and Christina were starting to get annoyed with her, yet if they were they kept those thoughts to themselves. Oh how she wished they would keep their thoughts about Aidan quiet also.

"Can you believe Aidan's a ranger now?" Sasha asked excitedly, the morning of the fourth day after being reunited with their long lost relative. "Did you hear him talking about it Faye?" Knowing full well she hadn't, Faye's dark sister carried on relentlessly. "They come of age here when they are twenty, so he's only had two years in the wild but he knows all about sword fighting, archery and hunting, he said even Aragorn helped train him!"

"I still can't believe he knows Aragorn, _the _Aragorn" Christina let out a dreamy sigh. "Aidan knows so much he can teach us though, and he says he'll help us to learn Westron, isn't that great Faye?"

Faye could only clench her teeth and nod robotically in reply. Christina carried on as though Faye had given a far more enthusiastic response.

"And he might even teach us sword play! It would be far more helpful here than our dagger fighting don't you think? Although I'm not sure he really took us seriously when I told him we could fight..."

"Yeah, he burst out laughing when we said you could Faye! Won't that be a sight when you prove him wrong?" Sasha prodded her sister gently in the arm, and even Faye let a small smile cross her face at that thought.

Just as they had finished dressing for the day, there came a light knock on the door and as Faye's spine stiffened she knew exactly who it would be. She did not need to hear Christina's friendly greeting as she opened the door to confirm it.

Turning around slowly she took the time to study Aidan as he walked through the door. Clad in dark boots and leggings and a brown tunic and a leather belt placed around his waist he looked completely comfortable in what Faye thought was exceptionally foreign attire. Glancing at his face she saw to her annoyance that he had been staring at her also and she made to move to stand by the balcony window when he called to her.

"Faye wait, please. I was going to give Sasha and Christina a tour of the buildings today, won't you come with us?"

"Oh yeah c'mon Faye, it will be great!" Sasha enthused, bounding over and grabbing one of Faye's hands. Christina, with a slight smirk dancing around the edge of her mouth couldn't help but join in.

"I think you should come Faye, if only so you know where the kitchens are, it might make it even easier for you to avoid communal meals that you hate so much, no?" a quirk of an eyebrow in response indicating Faye's amusement was all the reply she got, Sasha however demanded a better answer.

"Won't you Faye? Please?"

A silent sigh and the brief closing of her eyes before Faye brought herself to answer.

"Fine".

She hated the smile that lit up Aidan's face.

"Brilliant. Things should be a lot quieter today, so we should have plenty of time to see everything. It's the day of the Council after all, although don't let on that you know, remember it's supposed to be secret!"

Grinning still, Aidan offered his arm to Christina who latched on to it gladly, and Faye's hand still imprisoned by Sasha's, she was dragged after them for the grand tour of Rivendell.

Despite her misgivings, even Faye had to admit that the tour was a good one. To be able to see how the kitchens, gardens, smithy's, stables, bathing areas, stores, library and literally everything she could think of, to see how it all worked was incredible. It was like going to visit a museum that had all old artefacts and machines yet they were still in working order. To see how cloth was dyed and watch the weavers at work as the slow process of making clothing appeared before her was astonishing. It also brought home to Faye just how little she and her sisters fit in in this world. They knew nothing, absolutely nothing about any of the skills they had seen on display here and it worried her. Just how, if they couldn't get home, were they supposed to cope?

It was with a tremor of annoyance that Faye finally realised that she would have to cooperate with the elves here in Rivendell. If they were to impeach on their hospitality for any length of time, and to lean on their kindness in order to learn even the most basic skills needed for survival in Middle Earth, then she would have to start being friendlier. A part of her raged against that, adamant that they could still find a way home. Indeed Sasha and Christina had only been talking about it the day before, yet Faye felt a sinking dread whenever she thought about it, and the promise she had made her sisters about getting home. If Aidan had been here for ten years and with the wisdom of elves behind him and hadn't managed it – how could she?

It was closing in on late afternoon, when Sasha and Christina were busy cooing over the goats and chickens near the kitchens – it having been years since they had seen any – that Aidan managed to steal a few moments alone with her, and spoke to her in an agitated whisper.

"We need to talk Faye. We need to discuss _him_. It's important, I think I know about where –"

Faye ruthlessly cut him off.

"I know all I need to know. Far more than you. Talking won't be necessary".

Clipped sentences, short, and she still refused to look at him. His hand grabbing her arm and spinning her round none to gently had her eyes shooting up to look at his face however, and she quailed at the fire she saw in his gaze.

"I don't know all that it is you've seen Faye, but I do know what **I **have seen, we need to work together on this".

They were gazing at each other furiously, the fierce gleam in Aidan's eyes only growing when he noticed the fire in her own gaze, the one she usually kept so well hidden.

"Well it's nice to know that you do feel something after all".

She jerked her arm away from his in annoyance before stalking over to Sasha and Christina. Anything to give herself some distance. She could feel his gaze on her back for long moments, before she heard him approach on quiet feet. Her sisters smiled up at him, and he replied with an easy one of his own, his eyes strangely calm. Maybe she wasn't the only good actor in their family after all.

"I was just telling Faye" he started then with a strange smirk dancing on the edge of his mouth "that you three have been requested to join the evening festivities in the main hall tonight. Faye's agreed you should all go".

She had to stop her mouth dropping open in shock. She had done no such thing, in fact she'd done her utmost to keep them separated from the rest of Rivendell's inhabitants, anything to distance themselves from the goings on of the Ring and any of the key players in that tale. The fact that she had made Aragorn's acquaintance already was bad enough.

She had no chance to pronounce her disagreement however as Sasha and Christina both turned to her with beaming smiles on their faces and excitement dancing in their eyes. How would she ruin it for them now? After all, what could one evening in the long run really hurt?

* * *

A few hours later, Faye was bitterly wishing she had put her foot down and told them no. After an agonizing trip to the communal bathing area, with both her sisters petrified elves would walk in on them the whole time, as well as the slow process of drying their hair and choosing out dresses, they were nearly finally ready. Aidan had requested the aid of two elven maids to assist them in getting ready. If they were shocked in the slightest about how little the three sisters knew of the clothing provided, or even the styles of brushes used to get themselves presentable, they were polite enough not to comment. Indeed as time wore on as the elves worked with them, they grew in their confidence and their curiosity with Sasha's hair and skin colour grew so much that they couldn't help commenting over it.

Sasha had a first been quite weary, but at Faye's comforting nod which acknowledged it was only positive attention, she soon relaxed and was delighted to let the elves experiment with her braids. They also seemed to relish the idea of finding the colour dress to perfectly match her skin. Elves it seemed were not so different from humans when it came to dresses and preparing for an evening in company, and both Christina and Sasha despite the language barrier, appeared to be thoroughly enjoying themselves in working with the elves to get ready.

Faye as ever, was a different matter entirely. After being helped into a dark green and much more intricate dress then they had been given to wear previously, she had set about the lonely task of trying to tackle her hair, something her sisters knew infuriated her and knew well enough to leave her alone to master. A soft touch on her shoulder saw her glancing up into the mirror to catch the gaze of one of the elves' in the reflection. They gestured softly to her hair and she bowed her head slightly in agreement. Surely as elves they would have a better chance of taming it.

Ten minute later and with what must have been a very rare frown gracing the elf maiden's face, she called over to her companion to come and help her, as Sasha and Christina started to giggle in the background. They were still attacking her hair when a soft knock on the door announced the presence of Aidan. As Christina let him in, he did not hesitate to tell both her and Sasha how delightful they both looked.

"I've heard it all now Chrissie – Aidan has manners! Who on earth managed to teach you? I shall have to pass on my thanks" Sasha teased him and he chuckled in reply although it cut off quickly as he noticed Faye.

"What on earth has happened to your hair?" A blunt question from him, and her eyebrows contracted slightly in annoyance.

"_Norwith, Elsera here let me_" he'd switched seamlessly into elvish as he approached them, and exchanging slightly startled glances the two elven maids made room for him, and Faye sat there stonily, not daring to move as she felt his hands move into her hair. Not two minutes later he stepped back, and all of the other inhabitants in the room let out their gasps of astonishment.

"_Lord Aidan, you have tamed it to perfection! We shall have to let all the ladies know who to do their hair for the fests in future" _musical giggles and laughter pealed around the room and Faye felt a twitch of annoyance. Did everything these elves do have to be so perfect?

"_You look beautiful, my lady" _the other maiden added quickly, before they both murmured their farewells and departed. Faye took the time to study herself. He had not done much with her hair, but he had somehow managed to draw part of it away from her face to fit it with a clip in the back of her hair and he had done so while managing to untangle all of her curls –that is where she and the elves had come stuck. No matter how they had pulled and separated them, the ends of her curls would latch on to another segment like a trailing plant, point blank refusing to break free and be sorted. Aidan had managed it in just a few short minutes. How had he managed it?

"_The same as I managed it before. I always could do it"_

Her eyes widened in shock as he answered her unspoken question and his gaze captured hers in the mirror. She did not know how long they stayed that way, staring and searching yet as Aidan broke off with an uncomfortable cough she saw Sasha and Christina staring at them strangely and with a hint of worry. Too long then, she supposed.

Shaking himself back into the present, Aidan without asking grabbed Faye's arm and pulled her arm, and captured it with his own. With an elaborate bow and a quirk of an eyebrow he gestured for their sisters to depart the room.

Smiling once more, Sasha and Christina linked arms, and their whispered excitement building they hesitantly made their way down the corridors towards the feasting hall, following Aidan's directions when he called them. Faye's arm that was linked with his felt like lead, and she wanted nothing more than to detach herself from it, but Aidan it seemed was determined to keep her prisoner. He wanted to announce her to the hall as his kin, and all of her subtle pulls to escape from his grasp only resulted in his hand closing in on hers in a more vice like grip. Her mouth settled into a grim line as spikes of anger started to course through her.

As the strains of faint music and talking started to reach their ears, she saw Christina start to draw herself up with nerves and panic, and just as they reached the doors, she stopped abruptly and swivelled to face Faye.

"This is our first chance to make a proper impression, we need these people to like us, you _will_ smile".

Aidan stood there slack jawed watched the exchange as Sasha struggled and failed to hide a smirk. Christina did not present this side of her often but she did, Faye knew it was far easier to listen. She nodded her head in acquiescence, the corner of her mouth tilting up slightly as she mentally prepared herself to act her heart out as she stepped through the door. Christina released a heavy sigh and turned back round, and after squaring her shoulders, she grabbed Sasha's hand again as she reached out to push the wooden doors open.

Taking a second to gather herself, Faye quickly schooled her features into a soft smile, and stepped slightly closer to Aidan so that it did not look so unusual that she was keeping such a large gap between them. If he was shocked by her movement he did not betray it and simply followed Sasha and Christina further in to the hall.

It was a vast space, filled with many long and heavy wooden tables. Many of the spaces had been filled, yet she could see figures coming and going – there was clearly no set seating pattern on the lower tables. As she meandered along behind her sisters her gaze was drawn to the head table and her heart gave violent jumps each time she thought she recognised those that were characters from the books written by Tolkien.

Sat right in the middle, a simple circlet woven into his dark hair, and robed in deep blue that had to be Elrond. And there to his right, hat conspicuously absent yet his grey beard resplendent, could only be Gandalf. And there, closer towards the edge and appearing to be propped up on a small pile of cushions, his dark brown hair tousled with soft curls and his face pail, was surely Frodo Baggins. Faye felt her throat constrict momentarily at the enormity of seeing all of these people for the first time, and she darted a quick glance to see how Christina was handling seeing all the hero's from her favourite tale. She needn't have worried, Christina was masterful at presenting herself properly when the occasion called for it, she did not doubt however the squeals of excitement she would omit later on when they were back in their rooms though, as she gabbled excitedly about all they had seen.

Almost without her noticing they had come to a stop, and catching on not a moment too late, she dropped into a curtsey along with her sisters right in front of Elrond. It was as she was straightening and her gaze wondered over the high table once more that she saw it, eyes of light blue that flashed in her direction and caught her gaze. Faye almost stumbled and would have made a very ungraceful exit from her curtsy had it not been for Aidan's hand steadying her. Her heart was racing as she trained her eyes forward once more, refusing to believe that she had seen the figure of a blonde elf with such piercing blue eyes sat there at the table, staring at her. He had been a dream, hadn't he? Seeing her at her most open, she had hidden nothing in her gaze, not for one second even dreaming she would see him again. Surely he had been some trick of the moon? Some elvish magic conjured up in the glade – how was it possible he was here?

Too late she noticed the silence had gone on longer then it should have, and it was a sharp jab of Sasha's elbow into her ribs that projected her back into the present. She had intended on speaking in English and having Aidan translate, but as she opened her mouth the Elvish poured out and she did not know who was more surprised; herself or those she was speaking to.

"_My Lord Elrond, I can not thank you enough for the kindness and care you and the elves here have shown both myself and my family. We are indebted to you"_.

He gazed at her for such a long moment that she thought that perhaps she had said something wrong, but his eyes softened kindly, and she slowly let out a breath she had not known she had been holding.

"_Think nothing of it, child. We are not called the Last Homely House for nothing! And any kin of Aidan's is welcome here. Seat yourselves now and enjoy the festivities. No doubt we shall have chance to speak again, if not tonight, then definitely on the morrow"._

Faye paused slightly at his last comment as she curtseyed again softly. So he meant to speak with her, with all of them. She supposed it was not so unusual, they had after all appeared from no where and in such dangerous times it was his duty to ensure that those who entered his realm were not a threat. Meeting his gaze briefly once more Faye realise d quickly that Lord Elrond presented a much greater danger to her and her sisters then she had first thought.

Aidan was steering them towards the table that housed what few rangers that were currently in Rivendell, although there were a smattering of dwarves towards the edge. As all four of them reached the table, the five men sat there all got to their feet, and Faye blinked in confusion before the realised what they were doing. They were waiting clearly, for her and her sisters to be seated.

"Ooo manners, I could get used to this" Sasha murmured as she took her seat, and Christina grinned in agreement, her face slightly flushed under all the male attention currently being sent her way. Speaking quickly in what Faye supposed was Westron, Aidan introduced the three of them to his ranger companions and they all nodded their heads and murmured their welcomes before they too took their seats.

Faye did not take the time to remember their names, her eyes were still busy tracing all the different figures and faces around the hall, but by the happy chatter and the quiet giggles of her sisters she did not doubt that the rangers were doing their utmost to make them feel at home. Her eyes sweeping towards the main table against their own accord clashed once more with light blue. The blonde elf was staring at her, had perhaps not stopped staring at her. He appeared tall and lithe even seated, his hair the colour of golden wheat and his smooth face was tilted to the side as he studied her with a curious intensity. Faye felt her stomach clench; she recognised that look. It was the same look Christina wore when reading a murder mystery, the same look Sasha wore when sorting out and looking to alter her clothing in some way – like it was a puzzle, and he was looking at her like _she_ was the puzzle, one in which going by the seriousness of his expression, that he was very much determined that he would figure out.

Taking a deep gulp of wine she forced her eyes away and this time they were held on something so beautiful it almost hurt to look. Under a deep canopy and surrounded by many elf maiden's sat the most beautiful woman Faye had ever seen. But not a woman, she blinked stupidly to herself, but an elf. With skin so flawless it looked carved from marble, and hair so dark the light jewels nestled in her hair looked like stars set against it. She could not see the depths of the lady's eyes from here but Faye had no doubt that they would be filled with age old wisdom, with kindness and a purity that it would be a wonder to behold. This then must be Arwen Undomiel. Tolkien's writing, magnificent as it was, had not done her justice.

For the rest of the meal Faye sat there in a contemplative silence, only half listening to the goings on around her, and only remembering at the insistence of her sisters to even eat. The rangers sat with them did not seek to engage her in conversation and for that she was glad. She did not know whether it was by Aidan's instruction or simply that they realised that she would not be receptive, but she did not question it. A wave of seriousness had settled over her at the sight of Arwen, that even with seeing the others such as Gandalf and Frodo the reality that they were truly caught up in the events of the Ring did not seem quite real. To see the figure of the elf that would give up all for love, that would have the courage and belief to do so shook Faye somehow, and for reasons she did not wish to contemplate.

As the meal finished, Faye had thought that she would find her escape, yet Aidan was too quick for her with his hand clamping on hers once more as he led her and her sisters through in to the next room.

"_The Hall of Fire"_ was all he murmured to her, and then he was gone. She glanced with fondness at the awestruck expressions on both Sasha and Christina's faces as they edged their way slowly into the room. The lights in this hall were dim, with the main glow coming from the large fire nestles in the giant hearth towards the middle of the room. Walking as if in a dream they sank slowly to seat themselves on one of the many benches dotted around, eyes transfixed on the elf stood in a circle of pale light, that was currently singing in a voice so clear and pure Faye thought she would never hear anything so beautiful again. The elf was singing in Elvish, yet for once Faye could not understand. It came to her then, like some distant dredged up memory, that there was more than one Elven language, and it was clear now that she only knew one of them although it was still a mystery to her how she even knew that much.

She stood behind her sisters, slipping into a trance it seemed as song after song swept over her, and her eyes softly closed as she let the music weave its magic and paint the pictures of the stories behind her eyes. It was beyond describing. A frown started to mar her features then, as her ears acknowledged a change in the music, in the tone of the tale, yet she could not open her eyes or dredge herself back to full consciousness. Her frown deepening, she stirred to wake herself fully yet she felt that she was drowning, buried under the words as slowly, slowly she started to understand them.

"…._For Sauron, chief servant of Melkor, was a master of many guises of shape-shifting and spreading his evil throughout the land. And his two generals, Draugluin and Thuringwethil, he gave most of his teachings and they wreaked terror wherever they went._

_Draugluin it was, Father of Wwerewolves, that found his utter end under the jaws of Huan the great hound of Beren, yet his horror filled many and to this day the Wargs of evil still bare his mark._

_Thuringwethil, the maiden of night that flew on mighty wings, whose talons sunk deep as she stole the blood from her victims, she was the chief messenger, the harbinger of doom. Slain she was in the end upon Sauron's first demise as her powers fled, and it was her cloak of darkness that saw Luthien Tinuviel able to pass through gates of evil to win the Silmaril and see her Beren returned to her._

_Long have they been departed, their evil vanished from this earth, yet such evil leaves its lasting mark and what came of their souls none save Sauron and the unspeakable darkness will truly know…"_

The words blurring in her ears once more Faye's eyes snapped open and she heaved in great breaths as though she had been starved of air. Eyes wild she turned to flee yet found her arm trapped in a painful hold, and spinning back she saw Aidan staring at her with an intensity that truly frightened her.

"Let me go". She could hardly believe that it was her own voice gasping out that plea, but he held on unrelenting and her eyes closed in an attempt to block out the memories that were so close to crushing over her. She should have kept looking at Aidan, for as soon as her lids shut and the blackness took hold, her memories crashed over her, battering past her walls and it was with a near silent whimper she subjected herself to their torment.

_Night time, late, and Faye was out of bed. A child of six that was thirsty and in need of a drink, stumbling sleepily into the kitchen and slipping on the tiled surface, falling. Hands wet, her nightclothes soaking up the moisture on the floor as her head turned, and she saw, and she screamed. Her sister, lying there, broken, her head falling to one side, showing three large gouges in her neck, as though made by claws, hooked claws as they rent the gaping holes and the dark liquid still pumping out in spurts to her sisters dying heart beats. A flutter, a stench of death, and dark vast wings flying over head. No one had believed Faye when she said, no one had believed her…._

_A year later, a child of seven, sat waiting in an office, kicking her heels, waiting for her big brother to come back. She needed to comfort him, to hug him, he'd looked so upset. Her parents were gone he'd said; but gone where? Boredom kicking in and her inquisitive nature a dangerous combination, her hand reaching forward grasping a file, opening it, and screaming. Picture after picture of two mutilated bodies, almost unrecognisable yet without a doubt it was them; her parents. Ripped, torn, broken – a car crash they told her – her eyes did not believe it. Flesh gouged out in chunks, bitten out, bones crushed. Jaws had done this, powerful ones, a beast. And no one would believe Faye when she said, no one would believe her…_

With an almighty shudder, her eyes flickered open to the present and a cool breeze drifted over her, and she welcomed it. When had she gone outside? The firm grip of a hand in hers had her looking to the side, into the sad eyes of her twin. When had he moved her?

"You had them sing that song".

It was a simple phrase, and one Aidan made no attempt to argue with.

"You had to know, I needed to tell you. I did not know how else to make you listen".

"And you think…you think _he_ is linked to them?"

It took a long time for Aidan to answer, and the question hung between them, quivering in the cool night air. His voice was so soft when he finally answered; he ears had to strain to hear him.

"I think _he_ is born from them, when their souls departed their bodies, I think they made _him_".

Faye willingly sought out his gaze then. She wanted to disagree but with her memories so clear in her mind she knew she could not. She had thought she was crazy, that her memories were distorted with what she had truly seen but if these tales were true, if creatures such as Draugluin and Thuringwethil had truly existed….then perhaps she wasn't mad after all. Perhaps the impossibility that _he_ represented was in fact real. The prospect of the actual reality of their enemy, of the danger they were in, left the snake of fear coiling itself around her heart. She nodded her agreement, and he let out a heavy sigh of relief as he lent on the railing in front of him.

"I thought you would think that I was mad".

She allowed herself a soft smile when she knew he could not see, before she replied.

"Not mad. I've seen it too".

He gazed at her then with such sorrow and such understanding, her heart trembled.

"I know".

She turned then abruptly, not wanting to and not thinking she was able to stand to be in his presence much longer.

"He thought you were an elf you know".

That statement had her stopping in her tracks, and she turned to look over her shoulder, her eyebrow raised just slightly in question. There was a strange almost bitter smile on Aidan's face as he answered her.

"That blonde elf, on the high table I saw him looking at you. I saw you looking at him. Don't you want to know who he is?"

A brief shake of the head in the negative, and she turned and left him then, departing as swiftly as she could without breaking in to a run. She needed time to herself, to think over all that she had heard, all that she had remembered. A wetness was on her cheeks and she knew she needed time to re-gather herself. Questions of blonde elves and their absurd suppositions that she was an elf would have to wait, and if Faye had her way they would wait indefinitely. She had no time to ponder on dreams that were turning out to be real, not when her nightmares were doing a much better job of it.

* * *

_What would one evening in that company hurt? Quite a lot it turned out. It set in motion so much, that blasted blue eyed elf who would never leave me alone, who unrelentingly tried to solve me, who would ultimately weaken me so much that I lost my resolve. I failed in my task, and I brought about my ruin. All because of him. And those memories, Draugluin and Thuringwethil – even then despite my agreement I did not truly believe they could have spawned the monster that haunted me, that was hell bent on destroying me. How could I fully believe it, when I could not fully believe this world was real? I took too long to believe, to adapt, to confide…and I paid such a heavy price. _


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except for the original characters and part of the plot, absolutely everything else belongs to Tolkien.

Chapter 11

A heavy hand on her shoulder was what jerked Faye into automatic awareness the next day, and as she sat bolt upright with her hand automatically searching for her knife it was with narrowed eyes that she took in the panicked face of Sasha. The whites of her sister's eyes gleamed in the early morning light, but there was a tightening of worry and as Faye glanced towards Christina she saw the same worry there although rather surprisingly her red headed sisters was tinged with amusement.

"Faye!" Sasha all but hissed at her "I'm on my period!"

It took quite a few blinks of her eyes for Faye to process that.

"Oh".

"Oh? What do you mean oh?! What on earth am I going to do? They don't have pads here!" Sasha was almost out right wailing now and Faye understood Christina's source of amusement. What was more concerning however was that if Sasha was on her period now, that meant Christina's and Faye's own weren't so very far away.

"Yeah I mean what do they use here instead? Do elves even _have_ periods?" Christina was a pool of confusion now as she scrunched her nose up in thought. "What on earth did they use before pads?"

Faye was at a complete loss. Still slightly disorientated from being so rudely pulled from sleep, she attempted to run a hand through her knotted hair while the thought.

"I'll go and find one of those maids, Norwith I think she was called". She deliberately kept her voice calm and as she moved her weary body out of bed. She had walked long in to the night trying to both console and control herself, and her sisters had been in a deep sleep by the time she had returned. Faye guessed at best she couldn't have had more than a few hours' sleep.

As she moved slowly to dress, Sasha was sat on her own bed feet fidgeting as she bit her lip in worry.

"It'll be okay Sash. They probably have some sort of cloth they use, I'm sure it won't be too bad".

Upon seeing Sasha's shoulders relaxed slightly Faye felt her own tenseness lesson. As long as she could stop her sisters worrying too much it would make her own task of trying to solve the mystery of how they got here and just how they were going to get home so much easier. It was looking less and less likely that there was a way home, and after Aidan's theory about what _he_ really was, Faye was beginning to question just whether or not home was actually safer for them or not. So many questions were swirling around her head she felt a constant pounding behind her eyes as though each beat of her heart was sending out another problem, another query, and all of them impossible to resolve.

With the help of Christina and a disgruntled frown on her face, Faye was finally dressed this time in a simple brown gown.

"You really hate them don't you?" Christina asked with a slight giggle.

"The sooner we get our own clothes back the better" was all Faye muttered before she swept from the room. Edging in to the hallway she could see that it was still very early and she paused to wonder just where exactly the elf maids would spend the most of their time. Thinking that perhaps at this time it would be the kitchen that would be busiest Faye made took a right and started to make her way. She passed a surprising amount of elves on her way and all greeted her with a soft smile and an incline of the head. Faye had no problems with inclining her head in return, although the smile was a step too far. She appreciated that none forced any interaction from her. It appeared that these Rivendell elves could be as reserved as her and Faye was not inclined to do anything to change that.

Still some distance from the kitchens Faye had the good fortune of bumping in to one of the elf maidens she recognised, it was not Norwith but Elsera but she was not particularly bothered. Either would do to help Sasha. It seemed her early morning appearance had taken the elf by surprise.

"_My lady! We did not expect to see you so early this day, is anything amiss?"_

It was ever strange to Faye to be referred to as a lady. When she had first decided to not speak to the elves here in Rivendell she had chosen to ignore it, but now that she saw that communicating with them was the only way forward it now seemed an awkward request to ask them to stop. She decided that ignoring it once again was the best way forward.

"_Not amiss, Elsera but we do require some assistance. It is…a rather delicate matter. I fear from our own lands we had different ways of dealing with it but my sister is due to start her monthly cycle, myself and my other sister also a few days hence; how is it that you cater for such things here?"_

Faye inwardly winced at her own awkwardly phrased question, but was very thankful she did not blush. Why was it that this always seemed to be such an embarrassing topic? She was glad at least that Aidan was not around to witness such a conversation.

Elsera's light blue eyes widened in understanding, and she smiled kindly.

"_Come with me my lady, I will show you where everything is stored. We have herbal teas also that can help with the pain"_.

Faye inwardly let out a sigh of relief. Pain relief was something that she had most worried about, knowing that Sasha often was laid low with the pain of her monthly cycle. Another part of Faye was greatly intrigued. The chance to learn about all the different pain medication they used here was something she felt was vitally important to know, and she grabbed the chance to explore it.

As they reached the storage area, Elsera quickly got to work gathering the thick, blanched white cloth that was already cut into strips. There were also some undergarments akin to old fashioned bloomers cut from a thick, starchy brown material and Faye smothered a smile when she pictured the fashion conscious Sasha's reaction to them.

"_These will all be yours to keep. The cloths are easily re-usable and they clean very well in hot water but do not leave long between cleaning them"_

Faye actually wrinkled her nose at the thought of that eliciting a laugh from her beautiful female companion.

"_Come, I shall show you the healing herbs next"._

Faye decided that a better opportunity simply wouldn't present itself.

"_Elsera, would it be permitted to ask that if there is someone to spare, that I may be shown more in the way of healing? It is something that interests me greatly"._

Again Faye felt it was awkwardly put but Elseara did not seem to notice. Instead a positively beaming smile was sent her way

"_Oh but of course my lady….will be very happy to help, it is so rare he gets any new students!"_

Unsure as to whether that was a good or bad thing, Faye sent a half smile back in response as they entered the doorway into the healing ward once more.

Again it was empty and there was a soft fragrance in the air that Faye breathed in deeply, her half smile subconsciously growing. Elsera bustled over to one of the cabinets and made sure Faye could see clearly which herbs she was gathering.

"_This is crushed fennel seed, it makes a very strong flavoured tea. It is not to everyone's taste I'm afraid but most seem to find it drinkable"._

Faye nodded her understanding as Elsera placed a heap in a white handkerchief before neatly wrapping it and handing it to her, and spoke again.

"_I will make sure to send some hot water for tea up to your rooms. I believe Lord Elrond wishes to see you early today so breakfast will be sent up shortly"._

Whatever relaxing effect the healing room was having on Faye disappeared at that comment and she mentally started to prepare herself. It would have been better if both her sisters were with her to see him, it would deflect from any awkward one on one conversations that could potentially arise, but with Sasha about to be in significant pain it was doubtful that she would wish to attend, and she knew Christina would not wish to leave her alone. Clenching her teeth Faye realised that yet again she would have to face this challenge alone.

The most pressing question Faye had was why on earth did she understand so much Elvish? Yet the potential answer scared her, so much so that she refused point blank to even think of it. The ghost of a memory was hovering on the edge of her consciousness yet she felt it would be the opening of the proverbial Pandora's Box if she were to recall it. Nothing but trouble would come of it she was sure.

As she re-entered their rooms she was almost pounced upon by Sasha who now looked like she was in real pain. Her sister's pained expression swiftly turned to one of horror when she beheld the cotton sheets and ugly brown pantaloons.

"But they are….those are…how am I supposed to be comfortable in them?! Feel how itchy they are!"

"They are simply to help secure these sheets in place and are a suitable colour in case any….accidents occur. We simply clean these sheets as and when necessary, and often to re-use them" Faye had meant her reply to be soothing; it did not have her desired effect.

"Re-use? _Re-use?!_ But that's – that's disgusting! How on earth is that hygienic?"

"I'm sure if we use hot water it will be fine?" Christina ventured quietly, hesitant to upset their irate sister further.

"Exactly Chrissie, as long as we clean them often, there will be no problem". Faye added a slight authority to her tone this time and while Sasha still looked mutinous she did not argue.

"We have crushed fennel seeds to make tea from for the pain also, some hot water and breakfast is being sent up".

Slightly mollified by this Sasha disappeared into the bathroom area clutching a pair of the brown undergarments and cotton sheets. She appeared some minutes later with an uncomfortable expression on her face.

"These are the strangest thing I've ever worn. There's like some in built knickers in them to keep everything in place. I am not a fan!"

"Better than nothing though!" Chirssie teased and Sasha could only nod vigorously in agreement. A soft knock sounded then and Christina moved to open the door as their breakfast was brought in by a silent elf. At times like this it was awkward for the three sisters to know how to behave yet the elf made no comment and made no eye contact so it was with a slightly strained silence they watched the elf depart.

"They are so weird" Sasha murmured to herself as she made her way awkwardly over to where the food was and Faye set about preparing the tea.

They had been provided with a tea pot of hot water, and not knowing how much of the crushed fennel she should place in it, Faye settled for a slightly heaped teaspoon. Leaving it to stew for a while, she quickly spotted the tea strainer and placed it over Sasha's cup in preparation. All of the crockery was exquisitely made and decorated by hand. This particular set where a pale blue colour with deep green vines and leaves painted around the base and the rim. As with everything the elves made, they were beautiful.

As she poured out the tea a familiar smell hit her and she furrowed her brow as she tried to place it, but Christina beat her to it.

"Liquorice! Is that from – is that from the _tea?! _I had no idea fennel smelled like it".

Faye confirmed her astonishment and she handed the cup over carefully to Sasha who sniffed it suspiciously.

"You love liquorice Sash" Christina reminded her with a grin, and with a slightly sheepish smile their dark haired sister tentatively took a sip and could not help the grimace that spread across her face.

"Well it certainly smells better then it tastes!" Sasha took another hesitant sip " But it is at least drinkable. Here's hoping it works…"

Another soft knock at the door and this time Faye went to open it and had to supress a raised eyebrow of surprise as she immediately dropped into an awkward half bow.

"_Lord Erestor"_ she murmured it, and as she raised herself to standing once more she tried to gage his reaction. The two of them had not gotten off to the best start and Faye knew she would have to work hard to win him over. She was not one for needless words or to be overly expressive, yet she was not quite the mute she had presented herself to be thus far either.

"_Lady Faye"_ his voice was as quiet as hers and as he inclined his head slightly his eyes did not leave her. His face was blank but his gaze steady and she knew immediately she had a long way to go to make amends. This was one elf that was a stern judge of actions and who did not suffer rudeness lightly. "_Lord Elrond will see you now"_.

Faye did not ask why Erestor had been given the rather menial task of fetching her, she did not think he would appreciate her inquisitiveness, so with a slight incline of her head to show she understood, she swiftly turned to address her sisters abruptly, giving them no say in the matter.

"Lord Elrond has requested I see him. I'll be back as soon as I can and I'll tell you everything. And Sasha please; don't fight me on this. I know it's boring here but how about this – you look to see if you can design anything better than those brown pants for when we finally get our trousers back? If anyone can do it, you can".

Faye had rushed to give her sister a job. A disgruntled glare was still sent her way but Sasha nodded her agreement. Christina simple gazed at her with a slight frown but she too did not argue. There would be time later to question Faye, and they always believed if they were insistent enough then Faye would keep nothing from them. They would perhaps never know just how much it was that Faye hid.

Shutting the heavy wooden door as softly as she could she then turned to face the awaiting Erestor who held out his arm to her. He was clothed in plain brown robes today and she blinked heavily as she studied him. The sheer detail on the clothing that the elves worse never ceased to amaze her, again and again reinforcing that what she was seeing had to be real. She may have appeared in what was once a book, but the truth staring her in the face couldn't be anything other than this world was now her reality. With a conscious effort she blinked once more and noting Erestor's concerned gaze she quickly placed her hand on his arm.

Thankful that the elf did not seem inclined to start up conversation, Faye trailed along beside him, her eyes unfailing to pick out the mass of detail that seemed to shout out at her from all directions. The intricate stone carvings, the breath taking paintings, the cabinets; all things made to fit in Rivendell seemed almost alive in their detail and their care. Such skill was beyond her comprehension and no matter how many times Faye walked the halls here time and again the clarity of everything hit her anew. It was as though the world she had been living in was muted, faded and it was here in Middle Earth that everything was real. It was like she had been living in a half sleep and had finally woken up.

It was with an unusual feeling of nerves that Faye entered the room behind Erestor and saw Lord Elrond waiting to speak to her. Taking the time to study him she found that he was truly impressive. He wore no circlet today, simply had the front strands of his dark chestnut hair tied back neatly from his face in an intricate braid. He looked infinitely calm seated at his desk, a pitcher and glasses placed in front of him, and there were mounds of books and rolled up scrolls doted all around the room. This room had the undeniable feel of wisdom and learning. His eyes seemed bottomless. He had, Faye knew, seen more pain than even she had had to live through yet only of a hint of it could she see in his fathomless gaze. How was it that he had been able to move on from such hurts? From watching his own brother age and die, to seeing his wife depart these shores, for the realisation that he would lose his daughter to the same fate as his brother? So much death, so much pain, yet Elrond was supposedly renowned for his kindness and his wisdom. Perhaps there was truth after all that time truly did heal all wounds, yet in the years that had followed Faye's all she'd felt was that hers had festered, were infected, and that she alone was trying to fight a battle against the inevitable.

A light click sounded and Faye realised with a slight start that Erestor had just departed, leaving her alone to face Elrond. There were a few moments of strained silence, the only sound permeating the room was the light rustling of the trees outside in the wind and the flutter of leaves as they danced along the balcony floor behind the elf. It was a spectacular view out in to the valley and Faye wondered for a moment why Elrond sat with his back to it, but she supposed if she were to sit here each day if she had that view she would get lost in it and any pretence at work would be long forgotten.

"_Will you not sit?"_

His voice, deep and melodious and smooth caught her attention fully and with slow moments, mindful of the long skirt of her dress, she moved to sit in the deep oaken chair in front of him. A light knock on the door signalled the arrival of someone else, and as the figure walked through the door she felt a flare of both relief and resentment that it wasn't Aidan and then felt instantly annoyed with herself. What did it matter one way or the other whether Aidan was here? She had coped without him for ten years; she would be able to do so again. Instead the figure that had appeared was that of an old man, yet despite the appearance of obvious age there was a startling strength in how he moved. Long slightly tangled grey hair and an even longer grey beard, and robed all in grey with a thick twine of rope serving as a belt; this could only be Gandalf.

Faye sat stunned momentarily as she gazed at him, heedless of his own dark eyes studying her in return. She missed the glimmer of interest and the frown of concern; she simply sat trying to take it all in. As he moved further in to the room a whiff of what was obviously pipe weed reached her nose and unable to stop it she wrinkled it in distaste and laughter resounded through the room. A light chuckle from Elrond and a hearty laugh from Gandalf saw Faye resume her blank expression and sitting ram rod straight in her chair she sat facing them, waiting.

Their laughter died with a sigh as they exchanged swift, shrewd glances before they both turned to face her.

"_My Lady, are you well?"_

It was Elrond that addressed her, and judging by Gandalf's relaxed pose in his chair, she guessed that unless he wished a specific point addressed he would remain silent, watching her. Faye simply nodded in the affirmative.

"_And your head, it no longer pains you?"_

Here Faye hesitated. To be honest or not, that was the crux of the matter. Yes she needed their aid but she did not wish for them to ask her too many questions either; she wished to be watched as little as possible. A heaviness was settling upon her though and as she stared into Elrond's eyes she felt trapped, and compelled almost to answer. As though calling from a great distance she struggled to answer and was astonished at the words that left her mouth.

"_It always hurts"_

"_Always? Or since Aidan was taken from you?_" Elrond's question was quick and sharp, and still fighting the urge to answer, again all Faye did was to simply nod. What power was in this room that was affecting her so badly?

"_And when you are with Aidan, close to him, is it worse or is it better?_"

"_Worse"._

It was through numb lips Faye heard herself respond as her brain sluggishly sifted through all that she could remember. There was a power here – didn't Elrond have a ring of power, and come to think of it, didn't Gandalf also? Where they pressuring her into answering against her true will? A deep tendril of anger coiled in her stomach.

"_And do you know why this happens?"_

_Yes._ The thought was there, the answer was on the tip of her tongue and she could see the small spark of absolute interest and almost hunger in Elrond's gaze as he perceived he was so close to getting the answer he wanted. But Faye's anger was building, how dare they try and force her to respond more than she was comfortable with? Clenching her jaw in readiness and with a supreme effort she hardened her gaze, brought he room back into focus and answered just one word.

"_No". _

She had the satisfaction of seeing Elrond narrow his eyes in annoyance. As though acknowledging the defeat, she felt the pressure lift from her, as though a heavy weight had been moved from her shoulders and almost without realising it she took a few deep breaths to steady herself for the next round of questioning. It was clear she would have to be on her guard.

"_How is it that you can speak Sindarin?"_

An easy question this time, and one she had no problem answering honestly.

"_I don't know"._

"_And why is it your companions cannot?"_

It was Faye's turn to narrow her eyes slightly.

"_My __**sisters**__ are –"_

"_Forgive the interruption but it is clear you are not related"._

"_Not by blood, no. They are adopted; they became my sisters when I was four years of age"._

Faye fought an inner smirk. If they thought to rile her into any sort of emotional outburst then they were setting themselves up for another disappointment. She had years of practice in keeping her calm; struggling to survive and keep your family safe during a fourth world war would to that to you.

"_And Aidan, he did not live with you?"_

"_He was raised as my cousin"._

"_And you believe that, that he is your cousin and not your twin?"_

Faye thought long before answering

"_No. He is my twin"._

"_Then why were you not raised as such?"_

A stab of pain at the question. Why indeed? She had thought furiously for hours on it, brushing against memories that were still too truly painful for her to look at in greater detail, wishing for some spark or thought to give her a hint as to why it would be. But there was nothing.

"_I don't know"._

If either the elf or the wizard picked up the slightest hint of pain in her voice, they did very well to hide it.

"_Your parent's never explained?"_

She'd never asked. Why hadn't she? But at the mention of her parents she felt her heart stop before it thudded back into action, racing in her chest, it was too soon to mention them after what she had recalled, after she had remembered what she had seen. It was always too soon. She shook her head in the negative.

"_Tell me of your parents". _A different voice this time. Deep and gravelly yet full of power. Gandalf wanted to know more. So he too clearly felt that was some import here, to what her parents had been hiding. Faye was teetering on the edge of wanting to know, but was too terrified of what the answer would be to truly want to find out.

"_My parents were Martin and Rachel Johnson. My father was a cook and my mother a healer. They died when I was seven in a wagon crash"._

It was a wooden answer, repeated as though Faye had learned it off by heart. She had, albeit she had made minor changes. Her father had been a head chef at a local restaurant, and her mother a nurse at the hospital and their 'official' cause of death had been a car crash. Faye did not have the inclination or wish to explain exactly what all of these things were to her two questioners.

"_Had they any other children, other than you and Aidan?"_

Another clench of her heart and Faye's eyes dulled even further although she did not know it. Stealing herself she answered the question on the subject that hurt her the most.

"_Yes. I had an older sister, Nicola, she took her own life when I was six. I had an older brother, Aspen, he died when I was twelve"._

"_How?"_

It was a cruel question for Faye and she closed her eyes momentarily to fight of the memory, to block out her reoccurring nightmare. It was bad enough she dreamt it every night, she did not want to see it when she was awake.

"_He was killed"._

"_How?"_

A tremble of her jaw now that she was clenching her teeth so hard, grinding them together so loudly she was sure they could hear as she desperately fought an inner battle for control. Outwardly her face still remained blank, it gave no indication of the torment she was in but Aspen had ever been her weak spot. He had been her big brother, her parents after they had lost their own, and her rock when Aidan was not there – he had been her **world.** And without him she had fallen into darkness so deep she could not find an escape. She was not sure that she should now, even if she were to find a way.

"_Stabbed"._

Just the one word, they were not drawing anything else from her. Not regarding Aspen.

"_That one at least matches what Aidan has told us. But your parents and your sister he said differently. He said all three were slain by a beast…a monster he called it, one that could change shape"._

A pause in the conversation as they studied her intently and there was even understanding in both their eyes. Did they then know of such a creature? Was it something truly born of this world that had escaped in to her own? Dare she ask?

The image of Green Eyes flashed across her memory. Clear pools of deepest emerald green, a world of happiness turning into a world of pain and she knew she could not ask. This was not a problem she could share, the more that knew the more risk there was of them getting hurt. She inwardly fumed that Aidan has spoken out.

"_Aidan believes this monster was a creation of Draugluin and-"_

"_He is wrong"._

Faye interrupted the elven lord and stated her words with such a sense of finality that he could not bring himself to continue.

_Aidan is right, Aidan is right, Aidan is right…._ The thought kept racing around her head yet the steady image of Green Eyes kept her resolve strong. Involve no one; this was a family problem, to tell others would be to risk them. She would tell no one else.

The silence seemed to stretch for long minutes until with the faintest of gestures Elrond sat back in his seat and allowed Gandalf to continue with the questioning.

"_Tell me Faye, how came you to be in Middle Earth? Aidan was never clear in what he told us of his miraculous appearance"_

He did not call her my lady. Faye liked that and acknowledged it with the faintest lifting of one side of her mouth.

"_I am afraid I am unable to offer any better answers. I do not remember. We were following someone and everything turned dark. It was cold. And then I awoke in a field, my sisters still passed out at my feet"._

"_Who were you following?"_

Having been forced to make replies regarding her family, Faye would be damned if she was going to venture anywhere near talking about _him_. She simply did not respond. With a slightly dismissive gesture, Gandalf continued.

"_We were puzzled, greatly puzzled by the appearance of Aidan here ten years ago. No matter how we asked, searched and studied throughout all our lore, we could find no explanation as to how it was possible or if indeed there was such another world as the one he spoke of. We eventually decided it must have been a gift of the Valar, that he had been wandering lost yet through their goodness he had found his way to us. But now the three of you have appeared. With clothing, mannerisms and appearance stranger then much of what I have encountered in all my long years. Perhaps then, this other realm is a possibility. But why are you here? And how to get you home? These are question that I cannot answer"._

"_Neither can I"._ Elrond spoke this time, his voice quieter than it had been before and there was a strange sadness in his tone. "_I cannot begin to understand how lost you are all feeling, or indeed how lost Aidan has felt if this other realm is true. It is also beyond my power to aid you. There is only one other perhaps who can help, but the journey is long and perilous and the wild is no longer friendly to travellers. I would not wish to send you out needlessly. Yet Aidan is adamant that you go, that these answers are needed"._

He paused then as though waiting for Faye to ask a question. She had many, all of them burning to be asked yet she refused and left him no choice but to continue.

"_It is the Lady Galadriel of Lothlorien I speak of. She and Lord Celeborn are the wisest of our kin left, if any can help you it is they. We propose you journey to see them"._

Faye sat stunned for a moment. Lothlorien. Now that would truly be something to behold. But how could they possibly survive the trip there? Neither she, Sasha or Christina had any survival skills. They could not make a true fire, hunt, heal themselves properly without modern medicine, follow trails; nothing. Aidan could now it was true but what if something happened to him and they were left defenceless and alone? Their fighting daggers would be no good if they came across foes who carried swords. A trickle of fear started to drip down her spine as she considered another thought. If they were to go to Lothlorien, just when would they go? She knew the timing of their arrival coincided with the business of the Ring of Power but they would not possibly surely think of sending them along at the same time? It would be beyond dangerous and Faye refused to allow her sisters anywhere near it.

"_I fear we are not equipped for search a journey"_. She was stalling now, putting off the question for when they were to leave; she did not want to hear the answer.

"_Then tell us, my lady, how we can best help you so that you are?"_

There was a chance here for Faye to secure them the training or at least some of it of the skills they would need to survive in this world if it was true they had no chance of returning home. She jumped at it.

"_Our lands are very different from here. We would need training in the most basic of survival skills. Making fires, hunting and preparing food, storing food, healing, mending clothes….even fighting. We are good with dagger blades but have never trained with either sword or bow and arrow. Forgive me if it is impertinent here for a female to ask, but none of us would be comfortable relying on just one of our party to have the ability to defend us, no matter how good a fighter you deem Aidan to be". _

It was the longest speech Faye felt that she had made in years and her voice sounded strange even to her own ears. The elvish tongue seemed to suit it yet the musical quality of it was so utterly alien to her. It did not seem as though anything she was saying was real.

"_It is not impertinent. it is not unheard of in our society for females to fight although I will admit that they are a rarity. We will help you in this"._

Faye stood to answer and curtsied as well as she was able and trying desperately not to feel foolish.

"_Then you have my thanks, my lord"._

She did not know if this was the end of their discussion, all she knew was that she needed to escape that room and quickly. It had been so trying for her to keep herself in control while answering the questions, to block out her memories, to hear of Aidan being spoken of with so much familiarity. She needed to get out.

"_Do you not wish to know when you will be travelling?"_

It was Gandalf's voice that stopped her, just as her hand was reaching for the handle of the heavy wooden door. She half tilted her head to listen, knowing that he would provide her with the answer, even though she so desperately did not want to hear it.

"_I am travelling with a small party in two months' time, we shall be heading south in the same direction for a long way. I have deemed it wise that you travel with us"._

I and not we. So Elrond at least was against it and Faye turned fully to analyse the elven Lord's face. It was as blank as hers usually was but there was a tightness to his jaw that indicated his displeasure.

"_I am not sure we shall be ready in time, we would not wish to delay you"_. It was the closest she would come to an outright no for now. She still needed to learn and did not want to lose the opportunity, but it was best to put out feelers for now. Gandalf let out a chuckle.

"_Come now my dear I am sure you do yourselves and your new teachers a disservice. You will be ready in time, of that I have no doubt"._

She met Gandalf's gaze. His dark eyes seemed to glow with some inner warmth and humour. He clearly had ideas of his own and Faye would face an almighty struggle to dissuade him from his path. Nodding curtly she turned and swiftly left the room, her thoughts racing.

How on earth was she going to prevent them leaving at the same time and even travelling part of the way with the Fellowship? It would be a suicide mission. She knew what perils the Fellowship would face and she would not risk her family to the dangers of Caradhras and Moria. She would not risk herself. She would not risk the Fellowship's quest. There was far too much a risk to have four people travelling with them that knew the outcome of the tale. What if they accidently changed something? What if they said something that could alter the path of the story? And what of the Ring?

Everything, absolutely everything pointed to it being a bad idea. And if Gandalf was determined, adamant to the end then at least she would see to it that her sisters remained behind in Rivendell. They were nearly all that she had left; she could not risk them getting hurt.

As her mind had been racing her feet had taken her outside. It was most unusual for Faye to have walked anywhere without her knowing, without her utmost focus being on her surroundings and she felt a stab of unease that she had been so unguarded. Pausing for a moment she took in her surroundings. To her back she was still near to the main building of Rivendell and before her there was a crossroads of paths. She was about to take a step forward when she felt eyes on her and her own mismatched ones snapped to the right.

The blonde elf was there. Legolas. In a tunic of mossy green he was almost camouflaged in the tall ferns and trees yet his hair glinted and his skin gleamed in the pale sunshine. His face was utterly blank though, as blank as Faye knew her own to be and they both simply paused as though neither knew quite how to proceed. As the moment stretched Faye began to become aware of the sound of voices getting closer but it was a lofty sound as though it was coming from high up and it was still faint to her ears.

"_Well my lord Elrond, I think that went as well as we could expect although I am not sure such a frown is warranted. She was more open than we thought she would be"._

Gandalf's voice. They were discussing her. She must still be near enough to the part of the building that was by Elrond's study and from the sounds of it they were out on his balcony and she was so focused on their voices she forgot about the elf that stood just metres away, studying her.

"_History is repeating itself Gandalf. She is hiding things and refuses to ask for help and she believes her strength alone will save her. Her father thought the same thing and he was wrong"._

Of their own accord her head snapped round and her eyes focused on the two figures high up in the distance. There was no way she should be able hear them but she could. They were looking at her.

"_Then we shall have to be there for her, for them, when the time comes. If she will not say then we cannot help, we must simply help her as much as we can"._

"_Or as much as she allows"._

Faye was now only half listening. Elrond had known her father. He had _known_ him. But why hadn't he said? Had he told Aidan? Just how did he know him? How could he know him when they were from a different world?

The questions raced continuously around Faye's head and she closed her eyes to steady herself as she felt her world start to spin. Taking a deep breath she squared her shoulders and turned to take a step forward, only to be brought to an abrupt halt. Legolas was stood right in her path, his face not blank now but confused as he eyed her intently.

"_My lady, are you well?"_

She blinked at him. And then blinked again before turning and without a word she stepped forward woodenly, disregarding the pathways and she disappeared into the trees. He did not follow.

Faye's world, everything that she had truly believed in, was crumbling around her. Her parent's had not told her why they had kept her and Aidan apart. Her parents had let her believe that the world of Tolkien was make believe. Yet her father had known an elf. What else had they told her that was now going to turn out to be a lie?

Her steps become longer, getting quicker as they matched her racing thoughts and before she knew it she was running. She was running and she didn't ever want to stop.

* * *

_He'd lied. My Ada lied to me. He had lied to me my whole life. I thought he had been perfect, I realised then that he hadn't. Oh how imperfect my father truly was. He had set in motion all that was to crush me through his own pride, fear and misguided good intentions. And I was doing exactly the same as him, I didn't learn from his mistakes, because I hadn't known he'd made any. My father lied to me. _

* * *

**A/N: ** holy smokes, my longest chapter to date yet again! I hadn't intended it to get this long at all. There was a lot more I wanted to include to, to help move the story along as I know it's a bit of a slow burner at the moment but I felt it would make the chapter too long. Things will really kick on from the next chapter now. I hope you all enjoyed it.

I'm going to say a piece here that I said in my other story, Dreamers and that is this:

Just a quick note really to ask please, please when you read this, could you review? I don't like to ask so much for them, but it really does make a difference and gives me such a lift in my writing to know what my readers actually think – from what I'm doing well to what I need to improve on. As I ever evolve as a writer, your reviews and thoughts are invaluable to me. **THANK YOU**

**Aza Sira** – Thank you so much for your review, that is such an amazing compliment I am gobsmacked! Just, wow, can't believe you think it's that good (although I'm very glad you do!). And rest assured I will do my very best not to discontinue it, I know how it ends, it's just getting there that might be the problem…. And a Legomance? Hmm, I don't know about that yet so don't worry too much, I rather think Faye has enough to be dealing with, wouldn't you say?

**Horseyyay** – I think you are officially my best reviewer! Thank you so much! And don't trouble yourself with looking through the Silmarillion, it is definitely something of my own creation. And ha 'melt for Legolas'? I'm not sure if Faye is capable of that! But who knows where the plot shall lead…. (apart from me! ;-) )

To all my new followers **welcome and thank you**

~ Yavanna


End file.
